No Words
by enchantedmountain
Summary: [HIATUS - BEING REWRITTEN] What if Ariel and Eric had kissed in the lagoon? How would Ursula have reacted? What about Triton, and her sisters?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This scene has always bothered me and so I've decided to meddle in. I've seen other authors take this scene on but never once have I seen one where her sisters or father are taken into account, they're used more as an obligatory mention. So, without further ado, what I think would have happened if they had kissed.

**Disclaimer:** _The Little Mermaid_ and all it's associated characters belong to D*sney.

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><p>"You know, I feel really bad not knowing your name." His smile was sheepish and his shoulders were hunched nervously as he continued to row. She looked up, a smile twitching her lips.<p>

He let go of the oars and leaned back. With a small chuckle he scratched his jaw. "Maybe I could guess." She leaned forward in curiosity, eyes widening as she waited. "Is it, uh, Mildred?" Her smile disappeared, replaced by a face of such disgust he couldn't help laughing. "Okay, no."

He looked up in thought. "How about Diana?" Her posture slumped and her lips started to turn downwards as she shook her head. "Rachel?"

"Ariel. Her name is Ariel."

The voice came from nowhere and he looked around in confusion. "Ariel?" She leaned forward, a bright smile gracing her fine face. "Ariel? Oh." He sat up as she grabbed his hand, nodding her head in excitement. "That's kind of pretty." She shyly looked at their hands and then back up at him. He sandwiched her hand between his, his voice turning breathless at the spark that shot out. "Okay." Their blue gazes locked and they shared a small smile. "Ariel."

The boat continued to drift in the lagoon and neither made a notion to separate their hands. If anything, her hand began to slightly tremble in what seemed happiness if the glow in her face was anything to go by. He tightened his hold and scooted closer. Faintly he heard music and singing, the lyrics making him smile.

_"Now's, your moment, floating in a blue lagoon. Boy, you better do it soon, no time will be better. She don't say a word, and she won't say a word until ya kiss the girl."_

The boat began to shift as it began to move in circles and he saw glimpses of colorful fishes and turtles swimming around them. He took each of her hands in one of his own, marveling at how small and pale she was. Her smile, _Ariel's_ smile, was still firmly in place, although it seemed calmer and more relaxed.

_"Sha-la-la-la-la-la, don't be scared. You got the mood prepared, go on and kiss the girl. Sha-la-la-la-la-la, don't stop now. Don't try to hide it, how you wanna kiss the girl."_

Fireflies swarmed around them, their glow making her red hair shine slightly golden. She tilted her head to the side, hope rising in her eyes. Her smile turned shy and her fingers twitched in his hold.

_"Sha-la-la-la-la-la, float along and listen to the song, the song say kiss the girl."_

Their hands seemed to raise of their own accord, each of them leaning slightly closer to the other. His eyes were sparkling with wonder, wonder at how this ship-wrecked, mute, lovely, graceful creature could make him feel as if he was in the middle of some sort of fairytale and turn his world upside down.

_"Sha-la-la-la-la-la, music play. Do what the music say, you gotta kiss the girl."_

She slowly raised her head, rosy lips lifting into a soft, entrancing smile. Her eyebrows were raised in a taunting curve, a playful dare lurking behind her kind eyes.

_"Kiss the girl."_

His hands tightened their hold and he leaned forward. No harm would result in an innocent kiss, he thought. He gulped as she turned her gaze more fully on him, a hidden seriousness in the rise of her chin.

_"Why don't you kiss the girl?"_

Why didn't he? She was beautiful, with her long red hair and the way she approached everything with wonder. She was leaning closer now too, all playfulness gone as he heard her take a sharp intake of breath. He pulled her hands closer to him, making her come closer.

_"Go on and kiss the girl."_

She lifted her face to him, her eyebrows raised in an unspoken question. He dipped his head and laced their fingers together as he saw her eyelids flutter closed. Her lips were softly parted and he could see her pulse racing in her neck. His own eyes were heavily lidded, eyebrows scrunching together in consideration.

Making a final decision, he closed his eyes and closed the distance between them.

Their lips met softly, her soft sigh caught between the kiss. He tilted his head, applying more pressure. Her lips were soft and pliant beneath his. Her lips moved slowly, responding with such an endearing shyness that he couldn't help his smile. He darted his tongue out and let it trace her lips, her fingers tightening on his at the electrical sensation that shot out with the soft touch.

She opened her mouth willingly, her own tongue coming out to playfully tease his. His hands moved up to grab her elbows, her hands bending to grab his biceps. He nibbled at her bottom lip, enjoying the small whimper that escaped her.

He brushed their lips together before scattering kisses on her face. He nudged their noses together and leaned their foreheads together. He drowsily opened his eyes and saw that hers were still closed. Or rather, they seemed to be staring at her lap.

"Ariel, I just, that was -" He sighed, a stunned smiled piercing his face, a single dimple showing.

_"Great,"_ she mouthed, but they way her lips moved made it seem as if she was used to speaking the word. Her eyebrows scrunched together and she lifted a hand to her throat, rubbing the skin. She sighed, a bit resignedly, before looking up at him.

He brought his free hand up to her cheek and brushed his knuckles across her cheek. "I wish you could talk. But we'll find a way to manage." He pecked her lips before sitting on the small bench properly once more and begun rowing back to shore.

He couldn't help but notice that on the way back, she looked into the waters and sadly shook her head, as if she were answering someone's question. He heard a distant sigh, one that didn't come from either of them, followed by a sharp splash of water.

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><p>Ariel's legs were tingling.<p>

It wasn't the sort of ticklish tingling she had found out she got when she was still for too long, but more like acute stings. It wasn't even that they all happened all over her legs. They occurred section by section. The sensation had began during the kiss and she'd known what it meant.

Her legs were turning permanent.

The kiss had worked. It had been true love's kiss.

She should be feeling ecstatic. This meant that Erick loved her back, that she would no longer have to worry about turning into a mermaid tomorrow, that she could happily live the rest of her days on land. She could dance, walk, run, jump, and do all the things that she had only dreamt about doing in her grotto.

She was happy, that she was positive about. Yet, there was a gnawing ache inside of her. A certain emptiness that had been there since the first of these three days, but was now drawing more attention to itself.

Her throat _hurt_.

When Ursula had demanded for her to sing back in her lair, as those ghoulish green hands had started to near her neck, she had felt her voice being ripped from her. When they had closed around her neck, the inside of her throat had felt as if nails were scratching at its insides, trying to scrape away something that wasn't meant to be removed.

When she had gotten her first breath of air as a human, it had hurt to breathe yet she had endured the pain. It wasn't that different from when she had gotten a sore throat. She assumed that the pain would gradually fade and as long as she didn't try to talk, it would be gone all that faster.

She had been right. When Ariel had gotten excited at seeing Eric at the shore, she had tried talking to him and her throat had been assaulted by a burning sensation. When she had gasped as she had slipped off the rock, the air had worked like ice to a burn. It had helped yet it had also caused its own separate pain. But the more she remembered to only nod and mouth words, not try to say them and be met with silence, the more the pain began to dissolve.

During the kiss, the feeling of having nails assault her throat had come back with it's force multiplied by ten, part of the reason why her hold on Eric had tightened. Along with the prickling that had surrounded her waist and the pleasurable shock of Eric's lips on hers, the moment in the lagoon had been as attack on her senses.

As they made their way back to the castle in the carriage, Eric was confidently handling the reins with one hand, the other resting on her knee, thumb drawing soothing circles. She was leaning back in her seat, not caring that it wasn't the proper posture for a princess, land or sea, and trying to control the urge to scratch of her thighs.

The prickling had descended to almost to her knees and it was driving her crazy. She wanted to stomp around, she wanted to stretch like she had seen a cat do while they had gone through the village, she wanted to do anything besides sit still. If she was mermaid, she could have easily swum out of the carriage with no danger. She couldn't do that as a human, it was dangerous. She had gathered as much at the alarm and concern that had overtaken Eric when she had bent over to get a glimpse of the wheels and horse working together.

"It's all right gurl." Sebastian's voice was tired, making him sound his age, something rare. He had slipped into one of her pockets as they had stepped out of the small boat and was now curled up on her shoulder. "We'll get your voice back." He sighed. "Somehow."

Ariel scoffed, turning her head to glance at Eric. He heard her scoff and had raised an eyebrow, not taking his eyes off the road. "Something wrong?" She saw his blue eyes sneak over to her and she gave her a small smile as she shook her head. He smiled, returning his attention to the road ahead. "Good. When we get back to the castle, I want you to rest. We'll talk more tomorrow."

A harsh laugh tried to force it's way out, the action making her throat feel as if it were on fire. She coughed, making the feeling worse. She clutched at her throat, trying to reswallow her spit and breathe in the cool air as a way of controlling the pain.

His eyes flickered over to her and he quickly set the carriage on the side of the road. "Ariel?" She continued to oddly cough, shaking her head at him. He got closer, his hand stroking her back, the gesture soothing. "I'll get Carlotta to make you some tea, okay?" She nodded meekly, the horrible pain slowly subsiding. She waved her hands in front of her, indicating that he should get back on the road.

Warily, he took control of the reins once more, sending the carriage back in motion. This time, he didn't let the horses go at a leisurely pace, making them almost trot in his worry over Ariel. Her eyes had flashed with horror while she coughed and her color had risen in an appalling fashion. It wasn't normal and he was concerned. He would make sure to tell Carlotta to leave a teapot full of brew in her room for the night.

Soon enough they reached the castle's gates and footmen rushed to assist them. Eric instructed them to take care of the horses as he stepped out of the carriage. Coming to Ariel's side, he took her hand in his and helped her make her way down. She smiled thankfully up at him and he returned the sentiment with a soft kiss of the cheek. Her cheeks blushed a pretty pink and she began to make her way to the entrance.

"Ah, I see you've found your way back." Grimsby smiled kindly at Ariel, who in turn dipped her head in a formal acknowledgement. She turned her head to look at Eric and saw him busy helping settle one of the horses. She sighed and pushed open the large doors, her heels quietly clicking behind her.

Grimsby's forehead pulled into a frown, slightly concerned at seeing the normally happy mute so forlorn. Straightening, he stiffly walked over to Eric, a reprimand firmly set in his mind.

"Eric, there's something that we must -"

"Her name's Ariel." The Prince was leaning against an open gate door, staring into the night sky. He sighed, the same sigh he gave whenever he was sailing a ship at full speed. "It suits her, don'tcha think Grim?" He pushed himself off the door and grunted as he closed it. With a nod to the gatekeepers, he started walking towards the castle.

"Why, I guess it does." His eyes were wide, amazed at seeing Eric act so dreamlike. He coughed and hurriedly walked to where Eric was about to close the castle doors. "How did you find out? Can she talk?"

A moment's sadness washed over the shine in his eyes, his mouth tightening into a straight line. "No, she's really a mute it seems." He raked a hand through his hair, sighing as he looked up the stairway, hearing the maids fuss over the new guest. "I started guessing her name and it just," he shrugged, "came to me."

The old adviser's gaze was still curious but he refrained from asking anymore questions. "Yes, well, sometimes things happen for a reason. But did you, per chance, find out anything else about her?"

He shook his head wearily and began to make his way to the ballroom. The room was large and dark, covered in layers of dust from disuse. The chandeliers weren't on, their golden shine seeming rusted. He walked to to the orchestra stage, flipping open a left behind music book. He sighed and sat down on one of the steps. He took his flute out of his pocket, looking at it as though he expected it hold all of the answers.

Grimsby's eyes softened as he looked at the boy, trouble marking his handsome features. "What do you intend to do now?" He dropped his voice to a murmur and added, "Prince?"

Eric sighed and impatiently flicked his wrist. "I intend to go out," he gestured to the balcony with his flute, "and play some damn music." Grimsby shook his head, fully believing the action to be a waste of time. Nonetheless, he followed the youngsters path.

Grimsby stayed behind, feeling that the young ruler might welcome a small moment alone. He watched as his charge set his foot on the banister and began to play his flute. A hauntingly sweet melody flittered out, something akin to a musical plea. He would wager his life that it was that melody that the heroic maiden had sung. When he finished, Eric sighed, and stared out into the ocean.

He made his way towards him, concern obvious in his face. "Eric? If I may say, far better than any dream girl is one of flesh and blood, one warm and caring and right before your eyes." He raised a hand in the direction of one of the castle's many hospitable towers and tactically retreated back into the castle.

Eric looked up and was met with the image of Ariel walking past the balcony window, shifting a fork through her hair. Her eyes were closed and her movements seemed like graceful sways. A soft chuckle left him and he tightened his grip on his instrument as he made his choice.

He backed up a couple of steps before lurching forward, throwing the flute across to the rocky edges that surrounded most of the castle. He heard the faint whistle of air rushing past it's holes before a final splash resounded.

He turned and made his way back inside the castle. His choice was made.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Ohmygosh. I had no clue that so many people would read this. It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside like when you drink warm milk. Alright, I'm going to stop talking now, and let y'all read the chapter. Sorry it's so short, but what was going to be the second part ended up being too long, so it's gonna be the third chapter. Hope y'all enjoy it!

**Disclaimer:** _The Little Mermaid_ and all its associated characters belong to D*sney.

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><p>Sebastian looked on from his perch on Ariel's night table, his eyes sullen. The girl was moving around the room, twirling in circles as she used that silly human contraption to brush her hair. There was a softness in her face that he hadn't seen in years, making her look so naive that he wished she was still a tiny little mermaid that he could pinch into place.<p>

But she was sixteen, a young woman, and set in her ways. She had wanted to meet the human boy again, and so she had. She had wanted to become a human, all because of the same boy, and she'd done it. Even if she had to give up her wonderful voice in exchange.

Oh, he would never be able to forget the joy that had infused her face as she and the boy had kissed. Just like he wouldn't forget the remorse that replaced it when she had tried to speak and not a single sound had been uttered from her lips.

"Ariel, are you sure about this?" She paused in front of a vanity mirror, so alike yet so different from the one she used to have in her shared chamber. Lightly, her fingers traced the intricate design carved on the wood, going upwards until the two sides of the mirror met as the heads of swans.

She took a deep breath as she sat down in front of the mirror. It would be so easy to imagine that Attina would come swimming by at any moment, coral brush in hand as she would scold Ariel on not taking care of her hair. If she closed her eyes, she could hear Aquata fighting with Arista over a stolen set of shells or Adella swooning over the latest boy that she had spotted in the marketplace. Her hands hovered over a set of creams and a wistful smile appeared as she thought about how Alana would be rejoicing at the beauty products and how Andrina would be ready with a sarcastic remark.

"Ariel?" The soft click of Sebastian walking closer to her snapped her back to reality. It wasn't until she looked in the mirror that she realized that she was crying. She sniffed and rubbed the heels of her hands into her eyes, wiping away her tears. She gave him a small smile and a thumbs up.

She grabbed one of hairbrushes on the vanity table, letting her fingertips hesitantly touch the top. Carlotta had told her that this was what they used for their hair, not dingle- She shook her head. Forks. They were called forks. She tried it out, her hair smoothly going through the brush. Looking into the mirror as she did so, she found it slightly odd not to see her hair floating all around her or air bubbles appear as she moved her hand.

"We could still get the King and get your voice back. He might even be able to get you your fins back and you can go back to Atlantica and -" He broke off as she violently shook her head. She pressed her palms together and pouted, her eyes growing wide. He sighed. "You really sure this is what you wanna be?" He waved a claw in front of her. "A...human?"

Ariel nodded earnestly. She stood and twirled in the middle of the room, trying to convey with actions what she would have with words. She skipped a a couple steps before running the length of the room on her toes. With a happy sigh, she fell backwards on the soft bed. She leaned up on her elbows and looked back to where Sebastian was. _"Please."_

He shook his head. "What a soft shell I'm turning out to be," he muttered. He smiled as he saw her bounce on the bed. "We have to tell your father and sisters about this, eventually." She bit her lip, eye downcast with guilt.

She sighed. She wished that she could be the one to tell Triton about the situation, or at least see him once more. She didn't even want to think about how he or Attina would react to her change. When it came to humans, Attina was less violent but more cold-hearted than their father. She, Alana and Adella were the only ones that truly remembered their mother and Attina being the oldest had been the one that their father had turned to for sympathy and help at taking care of the merprincesses.

Ariel moved from the bed and went to gather Sebastian. Laying him on a spare pillow, she continued walking until she was standing at the window. Her fingers touched the cool glass, her face shyly peeking out. She didn't hear any barks or the sound of a flute, disappointment washing over her.

She looked out at the sea, and began to worry her lip again as she saw the dark clouds beginning to form overhead. She blew a kiss out into the air, wishing that she could sing something, even chords, and that they would be able to hear her and know that she was safe. But she couldn't do anything except worriedly look on.

She sighed, locking the windows closed. She blew out the candle before slipping under the covers. She hugged the pillow to her, eyes fluttering closed, ready to slip into oblivion. For a brief moment, she could have sworn that she heard her father roar, "Have no one rest!" and she got the barest of glimpses into her old bedroom, saw all of her sisters sitting in their beds, except for Andrina and Attina who seemed to be yelling at each other.

Before she could hear more, the prickling became painfully acute. It was at her feet, all along the bottom and gathering in stings on her toes. Tears slipped from her eyes as she felt the muscles in both her legs tighten uncomfortably, making her curl into a ball. She inhaled sharply as she resisted the urge to cry out, knowing that would result in more pain.

But then the pain was gone, the tightness, the stinging, the prickling - all of it. In its place was a relaxation like no other, her legs feeling heavy. She sighed in relief.  
>As Ariel began to feel the darkness of sleep welcome her, she heard a single sentence.<p>

"What have I done?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **_OVER 300 HITS ALREADY?_ I love you guys, so MUCH.

So, long chapter is _loooong_. Around the middle of this ridiculously long chapter, there's a song reference. Once, and if, you spot it, find that song on youtube and re-read that part. I actually pictured them singing it, haha. And no, I'm not gonna give it out because, hey, what's the fun in that? c:

If you've seen _Ariel's Beginning_, I used that as my basis for the sisters (especially their voices, OHMYGOSH THEIR VOICES) and the room layout so just forget 'bout the series, if you've seen that. If you haven't seen it, SEE IT. Or just youtube "Daughters of Triton" to see clips of the sisters during the movie. Picturing this without those voice just like kills it.

**Disclaimer:** _The Little Mermaid_ and all its associated characters belong to D*sney.

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><p>Attina turned from the window to face her sisters. All of them were trying to go through their normal bedtime preparations, but with it being the second day that Ariel had been missing, there were noticeable strains in their patterns.<p>

Alana was putting on her night cream with a robotic efficiency, none of her usual critical assessments to make sure that not a speck of skin was freed from her beauty treatments. Adella had let her hair down and instead of carefully brushing the purple-tinted strands, she was roughly pulling at her hair with her hands, agitation clear on her normally dazed features. Aquata and Arista smiled sheepishly at each other as they caught the other sneaking each others possessions instead of the usual playful fight. And Andrina was curled in her bed already, her blonde hair strangely unleashed from it's confines.

Attina herself hadn't even taken off the little make-up she wore or fixed her hair. She sat down on the windowsill as shock hit her. She hadn't done anything these past two days. She normally would help Arista with her trumpet, encourage Aquata during her spongeball practice, experiment creams with Alana, try out new styles on Adella's hair, or go to the market with Andrina. She had merely been swimming around the castle in worry, picking at her nails instead of trying to help get Ariel back or help keep the normality in her sisters lives.

"Where do you guys think she is?" Arista's voice was soft, muffled by the pillow she was clutching.

All the girls stopped in their movements, unease weighing down their chests as they realized the truth. None of them knew.

They had all known Ariel since birth, they were all a close family, especially after Athena's death, but they didn't have a single clue as to where their baby sister could be hiding. In unison, five heads turned in the direction of the window, their worried stares locking on Attina's downcast one.

The heir to the throne raised a hand to her mouth, trying to hold in the sobs that threatened to escape. She couldn't cry, she couldn't fall apart in front of them. They needed something, someone that was in control of their emotions and with Triton blistering with rage, Attina was the first to fill in the motherly gap.

Although, no matter how hard she tried, tears began to slide down her cheeks, glittering in the moonlight as they hit the windowsill. She clenched her eyes shut, hating this sign of vulnerability. Athena had never cried in front of them, no matter how dire the situation. Athena had always been in control of herself, had always fixed everything, had made everything survivable.

Just like Ariel had done.

With a choked sob, Attina buried her face in her hands. She was a failure. She had failed her mother and father by letting this happen to Ariel, she had failed her sisters by not being the rock they needed. Her shame grew with each gasping cry that was torn from her body.

"I-I-I don't know either," she gasped. She shook her head in despair. "I d-d-don't know where she could have gone, o-or with wh-wh-who and it's a-a-all my fault." She whimpered, the held back sobs beginning to hurt her chest.

Andrina was the first to react, rapidly swimming to her big sister and hugging her to her. Attina shook her head, trying to push away. "Y-you shouldn't be comf-f-forting me, it should be the other way around-d," she cried.

"Hey," the second youngest grabbed her chin and brought her face up to meet her own. Her signature smirk appeared, but instead of glittering with mischief, her dark green eyes were watery with tears. "How about we all comfort each other?"

A whimper passed around the entire bedchamber before all the remaining princesses huddled together on the window and cried.

"It's not your fault, 'Tina!"

"We should have all been watching!"

"Any of us could have stopped Daddy from going to her grotto!"

"Or followed him so that we could be with her!"

"We're all at fault!"

Alana sniffed and wiped her cheeks, her hands coming off with the plankton extract she was using. "Oh, look at what you've all done." She went to the mirror and took off her mask, a smile playing on her lips. "I'm crying and now my face is going to be horribly puffy."

The sisters laughed at her vanity, taking the moment to wipe their own tears. They took turns kissing Attina on the cheek before swimming to their beds. None of them settled for sleep, instead they all sat as they watched Attina.

Attina sighed and shook her head. She swam over to Alana and helped her finish. The raven princess smiled her thanks before going to her bed. Just like her younger sisters, she sat down with her tail curled close to her. She looked to the empty bed behind her, her lip trembling.

"Why doesn't Daddy let us help?" Aquata's angry whisper cut through the silence, her features twisted into a scowl. "He has us all just stuck in here, like helpless guppies."

"You know Dad is just worried about us," Attina whispered. She leaned back on one of the vanity mirrors, her tail nervously swishing in front of her.

Andrina scoffed. "Like always. He's just about the most overprotective father-"

"Ever!" Arista finished for her sister. She rolled her eyes. "It's not like any of us are going to go to the surface like Ariel," she mumbled.

"Surface?" Attina's tail froze and her fingers tightened their hold on the vanity table. "She actually dares go there?"

Arista stammered, not wanting to anger her. "I mean like, the way she used to. Y'know, back when we were little and like, a couple months ago so like-"

"Great," Andrina drawled, interrupting her older sister's attempt to cover up her slip-up.

"You're joking," Alana raised an eyebrow, "right?"

Arista bit her lip and twisted her fingers in her blanket, looking over to her younger sister for help. Andrina sighed and rolled eyes. "Of course we are Alana. I mean, how else is she supposed to fill up her grotto?"

Alana shook her head. "I don't believe you. I mean, she used to, but she wouldn't -"

"It makes sense," Aquata mumbled. She chewed on her bottom lip, double-checking her thought process. The brunette looked up and let her gaze meet all of her sisters.

"She's always loved the human world, right?" She didn't wait for a response and continued to talk. "And it just got worse when Mom died. I mean, she started going into shipwrecks by herself last year."

"As a way to commemorate the anniversary of her first solo finding." Andrina raised an eyebrow at the surprised looks she received. "I talk to her, you know."

Waving off Andrina's interruption, the nineteen year old continued. "And we know she started collecting and then Flounder found that grotto,"

"Which she thinks we don't know about," Adella added with a smirk.

Aquata nodded, her lips setting into a firm line. "And then three days ago, she starts swimming in circles, practically chasing her tail."

"Starts acting ditzy and dreamy," Alana said slowly.

"Her head's up in the foam." Aquata scooted closer to the edge of her bed.

"Her eyes have gone all gleamy, like no one's home," Attina whispered, not looking up.

Alana and Aquata shared a look before the older of the two swam up to Attina. Alana grabbed her older sister's hand, making her look up. "She floats away the days," the younger siblings said, eyes expectant.

Attina looked away and caught Andrina's smirking face. "Mopin' on the coastal shelf," she breathed out.

"Ask her where she's going," the dirty blonde gave a one-shoulder shrug, turning to face Adella, "she giggles like a fool."

Adella frowned, resting her chin in an upturn hand. "Not like she was there often, but she was barely sticking a fin in the tidal pool."

Arista sighed. "It's more than just a phase," she whispered, her light voice breaking. She whimpered and wiped away a stray tear. "She's just not herself."

Aquata leaned back on her pillow, her eyes twinkling. "Is she ill?"

"Is she insane?" Attina's voice was harsh as a whip, head snapping up to glare at her younger sisters. The water temperature had heated up, the eldest's anger pouring out in a steady flow. She scoffed, going to her bed.

Alana bit her lip and looked around. Aquata sighed and laid on her side, frowning at her sister's back. Arista and Adella shared worried looks and they begun to settle in their beds. Andrina raked a hand through her hair, annoyance finally showing on her face.

Adella spoke softly as she peeked up from underneath her blanket. "You don't think that she's really -"

"Of course not!" Attina snapped. "She knows how dangerous humans are, they killed Mom." She crossed her arms, spine straight. "Besides, there's no way that she could be one of those monsters."

"Aquata's right though." The seventeen year old's voice was oddly serious. She sighed and raked a hand through her hair once more. "I mean, she's always liked humans. Daddy got mad at her because he found out about her collection. We know she dreams about becoming one, for Poseidon's sake!"

"How in the sea would she become one?" Attina spat out, cheeks flushed with anger. She fisted her hands, tears threatening to break through once more. "The only way to accomplish that is with magic and the only person that has magic that powerful is Father."

"Or the Sea Witch," Andrina's droll voice said.

A mutual gasp shot out, all the princesses shocked.

"Don't say that 'Dri!" Arista whispered.

"That's not cute," deadpanned Aquata.

"Every lie gets you an early wrinkle," sing-sang Alana.

"And you know boys don't like that," Adella said confidently, stretching out her own skin.

"Neither does Father," came Attina's stern voice.

"Wrinkles?" At hearing the collection of annoyed sighs, Arista sheepishly smiled. "Sorry."

"Andrina, everyone knows that she uses black magic, and it always," she leaned over the youngest in the room, "_always_ backfires."

"No one knows how to get there anyways." Alana's confident voice rang throughout the room. "Only Dad knows and there's no way that it could have slipped."

"Attina knows," Andrina smirked.

Attina narrowed her light green eyes, her face slowly getting wiped of emotion. "How can you be so sure about that?"

"I know that you were with Daddy and Mom when he banished her. And that as the Crown Princess, you are aware of where she is in case that anything happens to Daddy and she becomes a threat to us."

"Wow," breathed Arista. She tucked her bangs behind her ear, her eyes shining with wonder. "Where'd you learn that?"

"I actually listened to Benjamin when he taught us about the levels of the monarchy," she smirked. "Unlike someone who spent their time sleeping."

"That was our first class," the red-tailed mermaid whined. "Governess always woke us up so early."

"This still doesn't tell us how Ariel could have found out about her lair." Aquata frowned. "Until we find that out, she has to be somewhere in the ocean."

"Don't you guys remember that she used to have those eels that went like, everywhere with her?" Adella tapped a finger against her lips. "What if they took Ariel to her?"

"Oh Neptune!" Alana gasped. "And so Ariel went and got legs so now she's on land!"

"I'm sure she didn't give it for free though," came Arista's dubious voice. Suddenly she gasped. "What if she gave up her voice? She has just about the most perfect one ever!"

Andrina raised an eyebrow. "Why would she want her voice?"

"That way Dad would never find out," Alana rushed. "I mean, what if Ariel didn't really like the land so she would try to get Dad to turn her back and then the Sea Witch would get in trouble. But without her voice, she can't do that!"

"I think it's for a boy," Adella frowned. "Without her voice, Ariel can't talk to the boy so he can't start to like her. And then the Sea Witch could have her way with her once the spell wears off."

"How do you know the spell wears off?" Aquata hugged her stuffed seahorse to her.

"Spells always wear off." Adella shrugged. "Unless there's a clause of some sort that would make it permanent."

"What about a kiss?" Alana's face broke out into a grin. "Don't you guys remember that human book that Mom used to read to us, _Grimm Something-or-another_. And, and, how there was a girl who's stepmom bewitched her and she could only break out with," she took a deep breath, looking at her sisters.

"True love's kiss!" the five sisters squealed.

"We solved it!" Arista's eyes dimmed as she realized something. "Oh, but how do we find out if we're right?

"Only one way to find out," teased Andrina.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** So, I was going to have this up yesterday, but then I started to re-read what I wrote and it seemed like such a horrible filler that I scratched the whole thing. I rewrote it twice and then this seemed like the most productive chapter. Hope y'all enjoy this massive probably meaningless wordspasm.

**Disclaimer:** _The Little Mermaid_ and all its associated characters belong to D*sney.

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><p>"Have we established contact with Pacifica yet?" The guards shook their heads. "Well, then go and make it! Alert all the ocean leaders, even the Caspian Sea! Have no one rest!" The guards bowed and hurriedly swam off, knowing that the quicker they found Princess Ariel, the sooner that the kingdom could return to peace.<p>

Triton sighed, wearily sitting in his throne. He settled the triton in it's resting place, waiting to see the faint glow that would assure him it was properly placed. He rested his head in his hands, grimacing at the pounding.

How he wished he could turn back time.

Before, if asked, he would have said, "Back eleven years," without a second thought. Now, the only thing that came to him was his youngest's face as he had raised the triton, his gaze red with anger. Her big blue eyes, watering with tears and filled with despair; her voice as she had pleaded him to stop, laced with the pain of crushed hopes. He wanted to go back to the moment that he had swam in and take a moment to actually see Ariel's glowing face instead of just seeing the ship as it had closed in on them.

And because of his foolish actions, she was missing, practically evaporated from the sea. She wasn't anywhere near the castle, not even by the coral reefs. He had gone back to the grotto with Arista, only to find it in the same broken state. She had teared up once more at seeing the tear marks left on the middle rock, undoubtedly Ariel's. When they had returned, Adella and Andrina had informed him that there wasn't a trace of her in the common grounds. Aquata had taken a squad out with her to search near the cliffs, only to shake her head when he had turned to her. Alana and Attina had remained in the castle to take the reports of the search parties and to be there in case Ariel came back, faces weary with worry.

Thoughts of his daughters made him groan. He hadn't been acting reasonable lately, his trident glowing all the time. He knew that he frightened them at times, the only ones that ever had the courage to speak up to him being Attina and Ariel. Yet, even Attina had remained distant. He should be with them, consoling them, instead of swimming up dust as he awaited news.

He looked up, walking towards the hallway. "Where are the Princesses?"

"In their bedchamber ever since two hours ago, Your Majesty." He nodded at the guard and made his way upstairs, tail lagging behind him.

* * *

><p>Attina watched open-mouthed as her sisters started squealing and throwing out ideas to find the Sea Witch. She couldn't believe this was happening. Her sisters were not plotting to go to the surface, they just couldn't be thinking about actually entrancing sailors like their ancestors used to do. Her lips firmed, making her caring face seem unyielding.<p>

"Wait, wait, wait." Emerald eyes glinted with disbelief as she looked at her siblings. Swimming backwards, she made her way back to their mirrors. She rested a delicate hand on her hip, scoffing at the confused looks present of the younger girls' faces.

"You guys can't be serious?" No answer. "What chance is there that this _actually_ happened? And what about when you guys aren't right? Then all of Atlantica would be searching for five missing princesses!" She shook her head as her sisters still failed to see her reasoning.

"We'll just swim around a bit, see if we can find her place and then just swim away." Andrina shrugged. "No reason to make waves over it."

"No reason?" Attina laughed harshly. "That Sea Witch tortured countless peasant merpeople, can you imagine what she would do to one of us?"

"She would torture you to the most sadistic degree before she even thought about killing any you." The six princesses gasped and turned to see their father in the doorway, a dark expression on his face.

They all stood straight, gathering in the middle of the room, Alana and Attina in the front. The King's gaze drifted over each other theirs, resting firmly on Attina's. She lifted her chin, a guarded look in her eyes.

"What is with this talk of finding Ursula's lair?" He crossed his arms, hoping against hope that Andrina would make a witty remark about how they were joking.

To no avail.

"We were talking about Ariel's disappearance," Attina frowned as she paused. "There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

He shook his head. "Of course not. You are all free to discuss the current situation we find ourselves in. Yet, this fails to answer my question, Attina."

His eldest bit her lip, uncertainty crossing in her eyes for a moment before resolution settled. She opened her mouth to speak, but only a whimper escaped. She blinked quickly and lifted a hand to her mouth as she cleared her throat. "'Tina?" She shook her head, patting Arista's hand.

She swam close to him, less than an arms length away. He saw as the rest of his daughters huddle together, confusion and worry lacing their faces. "Father, I would like to speak to you in private." She bowed her head respectfully. "If you have the time."

Triton narrowed his gaze. Nothing good ever resulted when his heir and him spoke alone. The mere fact that she had something to say that she couldn't say in front of her sisters was worry enough. Nonetheless, he nodded, turning to leave the bedchamber. "We will talk in the conference room, in fifteen minutes."

"Yes, Father." She bowed and quickly her sisters followed.

With a sigh, he swam out of the room, leaving the princesses to their own devices once more. He went for a swim in the gardens, hoping to relax somewhat but his mind was haunted by his daughters voices.

_"We'll just swim around a bit, see if we can find her place, then swim away."_

_"Can you imagine what she would do to one of us?"_

He suppressed a shiver at the images that flashed in his mind. He had seen what her victims looked like, even the survivors weren't able to interact normally. He saw them around the marketplace. Most were what the merfolk labeled as "water-brained" since they always had a panicked look with their fins never staying still and horrible marks on their bodies, marks that none could explain with breaking into shrieks as memories overcame them.

He would trade himself in any of his daughters' place if Ursula got her tentacles on them. But now he couldn't get the thought of Ariel being trapped in her lair out of his mind. Just the thought of his sweetest child struggling in her grasp made his gaze tint with red. He was afraid of what would happen if he were to lose all of his children to her.

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><p>Attina sighed and sat down, leaning her head on her hand. She rubbed her forehead, feeling the beginnings of a migraine. What in the sea had possessed her to speak to her father? She was in no condition to negotiate with him. She should have let Andrina speak, as this was all her fault.<p>

She frowned and looked at her sisters reflections in the mirror. They were slowly swimming closer, uncertainty still in their gazes. As she saw the innocence in their faces, even Alana's, she knew that she never would be able to let them feel their fathers wrath. She had felt it herself when she was a young teenager in a rare and never repeated spout of rebellion and whenever they discussed touchy ocean subjects. The anger that they had witnessed when he had found them in The Catfish Club had been nothing.

"Attina, why did you do that?" She looked up and saw Alana's worried eyes looking at her in the mirror.

Grabbing her sister's hand, she smiled softly. "So that I can talk with him calmly and smooth his scales. I am going to try to explain this whole thing in a more rational way."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Arista's high-pitched voice sounded strained. Being the emotional one of the lot, tears were already falling down her face.

Attina rubbed her face and sighed. "Stay in the castle. Not wander off."

"How is that going to help find Ariel?" Andrina spat.

"By not causing more trouble for the guards!" Attina turned back to her defiant sister. Ariel and Andrina has always been the more independent ones, but Andrina's knack for sarcasm had made her seem more docile. "None of you are to go anywhere. Is that clear? If I find even the air bubbles of you turning back, I will grab you by the fins and beach you!"

Their green gazes locked, a silent war raging. "You're just like Daddy," Andrina whispered. Attina's head snapped back, the words acting like a slap. "You're so possessive and overbearing and you just don't understand!" She took a deep breath, trying to blink away the tears that had snuck up on her. "No wonder Ariel left."

Alana gasped, Adella was frozen with shock, Aquata was shaking her head softly, and Arista was whimpering. Attina stammered, trying to find her voice. "A-andrina, you can't -"

"I do!" Her voice was powerful, so unlike the teasing tone they always heard. "It's amazing how I finally understand why she never liked being here. She was always constricted, never allowed an inch of freedom."

"How can you say that?" She swam up to Andrina, anger clear in her eyes. "She was the baby, the youngest, Mom's look alike. I can barely recall a moment when she wasn't given her freedom," she sneered.

"How about the past eleven years?" Face flushed, she whipped a hand around the room. "We've all been held back, controlled over by you and Daddy! All because of some silly fear that we'll end up like Mom when -"

"It's not silly!" Attina shrieked, losing her temper. All was still in the bedchamber, none of them used to hearing their sister raise her voice. "None of you were there when that boat got near to Momma! None of you saw the fear, the pure agony that showed on her face whenever we received news of another merman lost to fishing. None of you saw the way that Father tried to co-operate with the humans so that lives could stop being lost. None of you know.

"I bet none of you know that the clearing we were in that day was an official safe-spot. There was a ceremony, a great signing where the human King agreed to give us that place, along with others, so that we could be there without any danger of being fished. Did they follow that law? No, they shrugged it off and they knew, those damn fisheaters knew, that Momma and Father and all us liked to be there. They were _waiting_ for us!"

She panted and her head dropped, as if her neck could no longer hold it up. "They were waiting and they got Momma," she whispered. "Soon after that is when we found out about Ursula and her banishment was carried out. As she was dragged out, she kept yelling that she was going to get back at Father. None of you know about that because it was done early in the day, especially so that none of you would remember it." She sniffled as memories of the giant octawoman's screams resounded in her mind.

"Attina, I-I had no clue," Andrina whispered. Attina shrugged, an action that seemed odd on her high shoulders. "I'm sorry. If I, if we had known that then so much more would have made sense."

Adella swam up, tears making their way down her face. "Now I understand why you two always freaked when we went past the cliffs."

"Or when I delivered my products by myself." Alana laid a hand on her older sister's shoulder.

Aquata joined the forming circle next, her adored seahorse clutched to her chest. "Or when I stayed out late to practice."

Arista burst forward, sobs pouring out of her as she tried to hug all of her sisters. "I'm so sorry for every stupid thing I've ever done, 'Tina!" She sniffed and tilted her head up. "You were only trying to keep me safe and I was just stupid about it!"

"We all were," cried Adella.

A great sob sounded, a mixture of all six princesses. They sunk to the floor, arms going around each other as more apologies poured out of the younger ones.

"Oh, I don't ever want to lose any of you guys. Promise me, please, promise me that you'll never run off. Even if you decide to leave Atlantica, at least tell me." Attina sobbed and pressed kisses to the top of her sisters heads. "I don't think I could ever go through this again, the uncertainty of where you are, with any of you."

"We promise!" wailed the princesses.

* * *

><p>He looked up, slowing to a halt as a large shadow was cast over him. He sighed, placed a hand on the statue that never failed to bring memories of simpler times.<p>

He had given her this corner of the garden when they had become the official rulers of Atlantica. When she found out that she pregnant with their firstborn, she had surprised him with this gift. When their firstborn had been a daughter and not a son like the kingdom hoped, she had meekly apologized, surprising him once more. He had told her that he didn't care about the child's gender, so long that they and her were healthy. She had burst into tears and kissed him full on the lips, not caring that a very shocked midwife was looking on. Then she had stated in a way that Andrina was starting to speak, "Aren't hormones just the best?"

He bowed his head, his flat palm turning into a fist. "What did I do wrong, Athena?" A broken sob escaped him. "I promised you that I would take care of them, but it seems I just keep hurting them. I can't find Ariel, and they're planning to go witch-hunting. It seems as if I can't do anything right."

_"And this helps?"_ He saw his late wife's caring smile in his mind, making him scoff.

"No, but there isn't much more that I can do. I've contacted the dukes of the seas and the lords of the lakes, sent out more search parties than I can count and we still haven't found her."

_"Well,"_ her voice rang out. He could picture her biting and pulling her lip, just like Arista did when she was extremely nervous. He smiled softly, remembering how he used to tease her about her habit back when he was courting her.

Yet before he could hear more of her voice, the rapid swish of water being cut through resounded throughout the garden. He wiped his face, cautiously approaching the section gate. His posture relaxed when he saw it was only the main messenger, a squeaky seahorse. His relaxation, however, was short-lived as he noticed the frown on his forehead.

"Ah, here you are Your Majesty!" The aquatic animal took a moment to breathe, also composing it's features. "Crown Princess Attina awaits you in the conference room. She says that you two have arranged to meet there."

Triton frowned. Had it already been fifteen minutes? He sighed tiredly and started forward. "Tell her I'm on my way." With a sharp nod, the seahorse rushed on it's way.

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><p>Unbeknownst to the King and the castle's inhabitants, there were a couple of sly eels wandering about, gathering information for their mistress. And farther away, in the deeper and darker depths of the ocean, malevolent eyes glared into a large bubble filled with the image of Triton's retreating back.<p>

"Ohh, this isn't going how I planned. No, no, not at all." A huff was heard. "Well then, I guess a little improvision is due."

A dark figure floated across the cavern before stopping before a set of cabinets, humming in thought. "Babies, try to see if you can keep an eye on Attina. I want to know what she has to tell her dear old pops." She cackled, a smirk appearing on her face. "I can't wait to see how he reacts!"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **There are over 800 hits on this story with fabulous reviewers and I'm giving you guys this HIDEOUS FILLER. I'm a horrible author. D;

Honestly, this chapter is really slow in my opinion and I hate/love it. I think this was me grappling on my last chance to write about the sisters. Try to enjoy it?

**Disclaimer:** _The Little Mermaid_ and all its associated characters belong to D*sney.

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><p>Attina was wringing her hands as she swam around the large table in the middle of the room. She kept mumbling to herself, assuring herself that she was doing the right thing and going over how to approach her father.<p>

She looked up at the clock set over her fathers' seat, biting her lip as she took in the time. _He said fifteen minutes,_ she thought. _Where is he?_

Maybe he had received intelligence from one of the other oceans and there would be no reason to have this talk. Maybe Ariel had turned up and was currently getting a lecture and that's why he was late.

She winced, feeling the pain in her head move forward. Sighing, she sat in her father's seat. She wouldn't continue to swim up air bubbles, she would sit and compose herself. She nodded, playing with one of the squid pens set on the table.

"We're going to have a civil conversation," she mumbled as she started to write out her signature. "We will calmly discuss ways that we can all assist in finding Ariel." She sighed, remembering the reason why she was waiting for her father. "We will discuss the possibilities," she stressed the word, pressing down harder on the pen, "of where she might be."

She paused in her train of thought and stared at the paper for a moment. She had it half filled with fancy flourishes of _Attina_, a signature she used for practically everything. In silence, she scribbled out _Crown Princess Attina_, the signature she used for official documents. She bit her lip and brought the pen down again.

"Queen Attina," she whispered, the letters on her paper coming out with a less childish exaggeration and a more mature flow. She held the pen high, staring at the three signatures.

When would the day come when that would be her only signature? It would surely be a sad day as her reign would begin when her father passed away. That day seemed to be eons away, but she knew that for the past five generations, the heirs had their coronation while still in their twenties, all of them already with a spouse of years. Some had already started a family, as her parents had.

Would her father die within the decade? Would she be married before that happened? She doubted the former while the latter seemed to become more unlikely as the years passed.

She sighed and set the pen down. Crumbling the paper, she mumbled to herself, "The first single ruler in four centuries." With an ease received from practice, she threw the ball into a nearby wastebasket.

"And the first female in a millennium." She gasped at her father's voice, jumping up from the seat.

"Father!" She stammered as she looked at his teasing face. "I was just - I didn't mean to say that out loud - I'm not complaining, but-" She stopped at hearing his quiet chuckle and blushed. "Sorry for sitting in your seat," she said sheepishly.

He swam farther in the room, shaking his head. "Don't, it will be your seat soon enough. " He rested a hand on her shoulder and lifted her chin to meet her eyes. "No reason to be downcast over it, there's no stopping the way of life." He smiled reassuringly, not breaking their gaze until she smiled back.

"I suppose. Why were you late?" She clasped her hands behind her back and backed away a bit. "If you don't mind me asking."

He shrugged, resting a hip on the table. "I lost track of time in the garden." He cleared his throat, playfulness gone from his tone. "But that's not what we're here to talk about."

She shook her head, gathering her courage. "We're hear to talk about the Sea Witch -"

"And how she relates to Ariel's disappearance."

"Yes. The girls were just shooting out some ideas as to where she could be and somehow, love and spells came into play." She paused, watching him with cautious eyes.

"Love, you say?" Attina nodded, her hold on her hands loosening as her confidence rose. "Didn't you mention to me that 'she's got it bad'?"

She gulped, having completely forgotten her earlier comment. "Well, yes but -"

"Love to a merman, correct?"

She grimaced and made her way across the table. "That's to be assumed as there are no other creatures which she could have any kind of," she paused, "amorous relationship with." She turned and faced Triton, a table separating them.

"Very well." Triton sat in his seat, leaning his forearms on the table. "Attina, sit down."

The auburn haired mermaid hesitated for a moment before sitting on her father's right side, her normal seat during meetings. She couldn't help the feeling of anxiety that she always got before speaking during a meeting, the feeling of being watched and criticized. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, sure that she and her father were alone in the closed room.

"Do your sisters, do you, know why I acted so," he waved his hand as he searched for a word, "so outrageously at your sister's grotto?"

_"Dad got mad because he found out about her collection!"_ "We suppose it is because of her collection of human belongings." She settled her fin to the side, placing an elbow on the edge of the table. "After all, contact between merpeople and humans is strictly forbidden, and with good reason."

He nodded. "That's not the only reason. I found Ariel with a statue of a human man, acting the same way that she was here."

Attina gaped, eyes wide as she processed the information. _"I think it's for a boy."_ "But how would she have met him? We never go to the surface anymore."

He rubbed his forehead. "I don't know the full details, but Sebastian told me that it was after the concert that she went up to a ship and she saw him there."

"She can't be in love with someone she just saw!" Her gaze narrowed. "Especially a _human_, of all things!"

Triton nodded, his face weary. "She told me herself that she loved him, as if he wasn't a barbarian." He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. "And so, I got rid of her collection and the statue."

There was a moment of silence as both sorted through their thoughts. "Father?" He nodded. "You don't suppose that it's possible that she might have gone to meet this boy?"

He scrunched his eyebrows together, not having thought of this. "It's not only impossible, but pure nonsense. Such a transformation can only happen with great use of magic, and I am the only one with such power."

"Or the Sea Witch."

"What?" he roared, jumping out of his seat. "How could you even suggest such a thing? You all know how dangerous her magic is!"

"Father!" She looked hurriedly to the door, before lowering her voice to a whisper. "Calm down, it was merely a suggestion." She hugged herself and looked down at the table. "Besides, that's what we were talking about."

"You let your sisters discuss this insanity?"

Hearing his patronizing tone, Attina's scales rose up. "It's not like I can control their thoughts Father," she said coldly. "But Ariel might be innocent enough to actually follow her eels -"

"How did Ursula's minions get added to this?"

"We discussed ways that they could have gotten in contact," she hissed. Staring into her father's fuming face, she shook her head, knowing how this conversation would end up if she didn't do something. "I know better than them how dangerous she and her magic is and how sneaky her eels are." She tensed up as she saw his scowl deepen. "I would never let them get near any of them but keep in mind that Ariel was left alone, unprotected."

"What else did you discuss?" Scowl still in place, he moved to stand behind his seat.

She licked her lips nervously. "Her eels could have tricked Ariel into going to the Sea Witch, leading her to accept spell that would turn her human, if it were because of her human boy that she's missing." She twirled a pen in her hand, thinking if she should keep talking or not.

"And I suppose that your sisters would like to confirm this their selves?" She nodded, her eyes wary. "Attina, you know that you are forbidden from telling anyone of Ursula's whereabouts, and I cannot stress how important it is that you don't even mumble it around your sisters at this time."

"I understand Father."

He nodded, noticeably more in control of himself. "If that is all, then you should go to bed. It's late and -"

"Actually, there is something else that I would like to talk to you about." He raised an eyebrow, not moving from his place at the other end of the table. "How can we help?"

"By looking out for each other," he said immediately.

"But how can we help search for Ariel?" She stood, swimming over to her father. "We feel so useless staying inside the castle. Couldn't we go out with some of the search parties?"

"Absolutely not!" He wiped his hand through the water. "I will not risk losing another one of you if this is in fact Ursula's fault."

"But Father -"

"You are all to stay in this castle!" He clenched his hands, standing straighter. "Am I understood?"

Their eyes locked, identical green pairs filled with the same anguish and anger. She set her lips in a firm line and relaxed her straight arms. "Of course Father," she whispered. She bowed, a stiff move that showed how offset she was at his opinion. "Goodnight."

With a cold, regal grace, Attina made her way out of the conference room and back to her shared chambers. Triton sighed, shaking his head as he closed the doors. Why couldn't they understand that he just wanted to keep them safe?

He made his way back to the throne room, deciding to go over some neglected paperwork before going to bed. As he sat in his throne however, the main messenger showed up once more.

"Your Majesty, Mrs. Coeruleus, mother of Flounder, is requesting an audience. She says that it is of the highest importance." The small seahorse flitted around as he waited for his response.

"Flounder," he mumbled. "Of course! Take her to the conference room at once, I shall be right with her."

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><p>Ursula sighed as she stared into the bubble upside-down. "Did you hear that darlings? Our dear King thinks that I'm going to take his daughters." The eels laughed hoarsely, looking at each other with knowing eyes.<p>

She huffed and turned on her stomach. "As much as I'd love to, the littlest is proving to be quite a problem." Tapping her lips, she looked over at a table filled with ingredients. "Stay close to the princesses, I need to know what they plan to do if I'm to fix what the tramp has done."

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><p>"We can't even go to the marketplace?"<p>

"No," sighed Attina as she finished brushing out her hair.

"The commongrounds?"

"No."

"The stables?"

"Arista, if what good would that be if we can't leave the castle anyways?" Adella crossed her arms, eyebrow raised in question.

The platinum blonde shrugged. "Well, you know I really love the horses. I mean, they're so sweet and whenever you give them kelp, they kinda dance and it's so cute. Oh, like this one time when -"

"Girls." Attina chuckled, setting her hair back to it's high bun. "Enough. We have to go to bed."

"Not until I get your hair right." With a sigh, Alana swam up to her older sister and forced her back down before the vanity mirror.

"What?" She patted the sides of her hair, seeing nothing wrong. "It looks fine!"

Unraveling the long length of hair, Alana tsk'ed. "You didn't even comb it out right. What's wrong?"

"Wrong?"

"Yeah, you're the one that always telling us to keep our hair presentable," Andrina swam up beside her, making a face in the mirror. "And right now, it looks like an eel swam in it."

"I'm not done with it!" With a grunt, Alana tried to untangle a knot. "Gosh, did you get a hold of the triton?"

"Of course not!" Attina playfully slapped her sister's hands away. "I'll just leave it down tonight and brush it tomorrow." Taking off her large crown, she ran her fingers through her hair, sighing as the tightness on her scalp lessened. "Migraine begone number one," she mumbled to herself as she swam to her bed.

"You're getting a migraine?" Arista gasped. "Oh no! You and Daddy must have really fought!"

Before she could speak, Aquata scoffed. "Of course they did." She swam up to her sister and didn't stop until she was less than a foot away from her face. "What else did he say?"

Attina looked away, scooting back. "Oh, nothing really. We just talked about Ariel's grotto." She shrugged, a crooked smile on her face. Her sisters looked back disbelievingly, arms crossed.

"'Tina, tell us." Arista clasped her hands together and pouted. "Please?" Quickly, all except Andrina were making the same adorable faces.

She sighed. "Fine." She ignored their squeals and turned on her side. "Tomorrow." She smiled at their groans, before groaning herself at hearing the swish of water as they gathered around her.

They started bickering around her, complaining that she was "abusing her advantage" and acting like a sea urchin. She lifted her pillow and pressed it down on top of her, trying to muffle out their voices. Instead, they just started speaking louder.

Seemed like Posedian just wasn't on her side.

"Alright, fine!" Rolling her eyes at their squeals, she sat up. "It seems she really is in love with a human and," she sighed, "it's looking like your theory is the best bet."

"Well, now I wish we waited." Alana jabbed Andrina in the ribs, scowling at her comment. Rubbing her side, she stuck her tongue out.

"So, are we really going to stay in the castle?" Adella asked.

She rubbed her forehead, wishing that she hadn't even thought about her migraine. "I've been thinking about it, but I'm not sure. Just go to sleep and we'll talk about this tomorrow before breakfast."

Her younger sisters shared excited smiles before giving Attina their goodnight kisses. Attina looked at Andrina, the last one to say goodnight. She opened her arms and gathered the, currently, youngest in a tight hug.

"What I said earlier," she mumbled against her shoulder, "I-I didn't mean it. I was just angry and-"

"Shh," she whispered. She kissed her forehead and squeezed her hand. "It's alright. I understand."

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><p><strong>AN:** Fun fact time! Did you guys know that Flounder isn't a flounder? He a juvenile Atlantic blue tang surgeonfish, or an_** Acanthurus coeruleus**_, per scientific name. See what I did? c:


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Yaaay, back to Ariel and Eric! Remember guys, the past three chapters all happened on the same night as the tour of the Eric's kingdom, so this is taking place on what should have been Ariel's final day as a human.

By the by, this story is taking place in late 1840s, Denmark. This is around 10 years after Hans Christian Andersen's tale was published, and it's also the country. All the clues in the movie say that it's in this time period that they set the movie in (Not too sure about the country though).

**Disclaimer:**_ The Little Mermaid_ and all its associated characters belong to D*sney.

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><p>Ariel yawned and slowly opened her eyes. She blinked rapidly at the rays of sunshine peeking through the curtains, rubbed her eyes and looked over to her pillow, only to see it empty.<p>

Quickly, she sat up and looked around the room. She saw no trace of Sebastian, and pushed the covers back. She went to the window and flung the curtain wide, thinking that more light might help her look.

Biting her nails, she rushed around the room. She got the urge to yell out his name and as her lips parted, she remembered she couldn't speak. With a frustrated sigh, she looked on the vanity table, opening the powder and coughed.

"Dear, are you up yet?" She winced and ran back to her bed. She pulled the covers back up and sat up, a small smile ready on her lips. Carlotta came into view and at seeing the girl, she smiled kindly. "Well, I see you already opened the curtains." She chuckled and headed to the closet. "Are you an early riser?"

Once again, Ariel opened her mouth to speak before angrily snapping it shut again. She waited until Carlotta looked over her shoulder to nod. She wanted to ask her what she was doing in there. She had peeked last night after getting into her nightgown, fascinated at the sheer amount of cloth. Back in Atlantica, it was rare to see merpeople wearing cloth as it tended to get in the way of swimming. On the land, people were almost completely covered by it.

"Ah, this one looks like it'll fit you." The housekeeper came out of the closet with a green dress thrown over her arm, white petticoats and chemise laying on top. After setting them on the bed, she went back in the closet and came out with a corset, garters, and slippers, also white.

The siren touched the dress fabric lightly, amazed at how smooth it was. She smoothed the wrinkles out of the chemise, gasping at the silky feel. She looked up at Carlotta and pointed between the clothes and herself.

Carlotta chuckled once more. "Why off course you're going to wear that. Whoever is a guest at Prince Eric's home is treated like royalty, including dress." She clapped hurriedly and waved her hands up. "Now, get up and let me help you out of that."

_What was yesterday's dress then?_ The pink dress she had worn to dinner had also been amazingly soft, while the less extravagant blue dress had been slightly coarser.

With a sigh, the merprincess stood up and stayed still as Carlotta took her nightgown off. Once the cloth was off, she sat back on the bed and pulled the covers up to hide herself. She had felt slightly uncomfortable when Carlotta had helped bathe her and the dressing routine was extremely un-nerving. For the past two nights, Carlotta had insisted on helping her into her nightgown, even though the processing for dressing in that was much simpler.

Carlotta's eyes filled with understanding, sighing as she loosened the laces on the corset. "Must not be of high-class," she murmured.

She raised an eyebrow, confusion in her blue eyes. Not of high-class? She was a princess! What significance is there between class and dressing routines? She sighed. She had so much to learn about humans.

Carlotta waved a hand up and Ariel stood up once again, unease filling her as the housekeeper stood before her and slipped the silky material over her head. The chemise reached to her calf and Carlotta tsk'ed as she buttoned the front. "So short." She saw Ariel tilt her head in question and explained. "It's supposed to reach your knees dear." Ariel nodded, storing away the information.

Next came the stiff and unbending material. This had to be the worst part of being a human, having to wear this restricting and awfully uncomfortable thing. It seemed that her small waist was something to be grateful for, as Carlotta had remarked yesterday. From what she could gather, this _corset_ was used to make ladies' waists smaller and raise their breasts.

Once the laces were tied tight behind her, she let out a deep breath. She adjusted her breasts and wiggled to get more comfortable. "Now, now, stop fretting. Other ladies have to get their laces much more tight just to get close to your waist." Carlotta went back in the closet and shortly afterward came out with a new pair of drawers. Ariel sat and took off the garment, silently pleading Carlotta to let her put this on herself. With a roll of the eyes, the older woman handed it to her and began to sort out her petticoats.

She had realized early on that the area between her legs was considered something private and she had found that she felt at an odd unease to have it uncovered. As she tied together the two pieces of fabric, she couldn't help thinking about how useless these _drawers_ were since the apex was still uncovered. She pursed her lips as she lowered the chemise over her legs again. Maybe that's another reason why she had to wear a chemise.

Carlotta handed her a narrow skirt and she quickly put it on. Remembering what Carlotta had done when she had first dressed her, she made sure to tuck the chemise underneath the skirt. "The weather is much like yesterdays, so only two petticoats." She wrapped her bottom half in a long flat petticoat, tying the buttons down the back of it. Then came a shorter petticoat that was overwhelmed with ruffles in the back. This time, the buttons were in the front and before Carlotta could begin to button them, Ariel lightly pushed her hands away, buttoning them herself.

"Such an independent miss." Carlotta smiled warmly at her. "No wonder Eric's taken such a liking to you."

Ariel's face lit up with a bright grin and she had to bit her tongue to stop from trying to squeal. Maybe he would start courting her? She wrung her hands in excitement as she thought about it. Oh, to have Eric court her, and her father couldn't even be here to make guards follow them everywhere or send her sisters as chaperons. It would be fabulous!

Her smile turned wistful at thoughts of her sisters. Never again would she get to hear Andrina and Aquata tease her or see Arista blush as she tried to warn her of the dangers of boys. Neither would she have Adella to give her "tips" on finding out how fun those dangers could be or have Alana fuss on her appearance. What she would probably miss the most would be having Attina shoo her sisters away and give her a tight hug before telling her have fun and not wander off with that small smile on her face.

"Darling?" Carlotta stood in front of her with a worried expression. Carlotta reached up and brushed away a stray tear. "What's the matter?" she whispered.

_"Family,"_ she mouthed. At Carlotta's silent exclamation, she sniffled and rubbed her eyes.

"They were on the ship with you?" She hesitated before nodding. "Do you know if they've...passed on?" She opened her mouth, ready to say, "Of course not!" when she remembered that they thought she was from a shipwreck. _And most humans don't survive those,_ she thought. She opted for a shrug and she was surprised when Carlotta pulled her in for a hug.

Slowly, she hugged the older woman back. When she felt a reassuring squeeze, she let her inhibitions go and tightly hugged her. She lowered her head on her shoulder and closed her eyes, silently crying.

After all, she would never be able to go back to her family, dead or not.

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><p>"There we are!" Taking a step back, Carlotta viewed her craftsmanship happily. "If it loosens during the day and you're still in the castle, just call on one of the maids to help you set it up."<p>

Ariel looked at in the mirror with a scowl. Her bangs were still in their same fashion, held in place by a set of small ribbons. The rest of her hair had been gathered into a high bun, in a style very similar to the way that Attina wore her hair.

She pulled at her fingers, resisting the urge to pull her hair down. Carlotta had filled the bottom of her bun with a multitude of wooden pins. She had practically stabbed her scalp in trying to get the thick strands to stay in place and right now, those same pins were pulling at her hair.

_I don't ever remember Attina doing this,_ she inwardly whined.

"Do you paint your face?" Ariel raised an eyebrow, not understanding the question. "Lipstick, rouge, powder?" Her mouth formed an delicate 'o' and she shook her head. She'd never taken a liking to make-up, only using it for royal ceremonies.

"Very well, then I guess you're set. Oh my, it's eleven already. How times flies!" Hurriedly, Carlotta looked outside the room before alerting a wandering footman to get her maid a immediately. Coming back into the room, she paused as she took in Ariel. "You look wonderful dear."

She smiled and rubbed her hands down the front of her dress. It was a light green color in a fashion very similar to her first dress. The only difference was the lace that outlined her neckline and the end of the bodice. She fingered the seagull necklace that had caught her eye, the animal being one of the few non-aquatic ones she knew of. Carlotta had approved, saying that it was the perfect finishing touch.

"Yes, ma'am?" Ariel jumped at the new voice, not hearing the maids entrance.

"Take the miss to the dining room. She's to have breakfast with the Prince and Grimsby. Quickly now!"

As she was rushed out of the room, Ariel inwardly groaned as she remembered that she never found Sebastian.

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><p>"So Ariel, do you know how to read?" Eric's question was cautious. She nodded as she softly smiled. His face light up and he exclaimed, "That's great!"<p>

Grimsby raised an eyebrow. "Can you write?" She nodded once more.

"This is great! Isn't it great, Grims?" Eric took a sip of his coffee, his eyes twinkling. He leaned over to Grimsby and in a loud whisper declared, "That means she's not your average commoner."

Ariel's smile turned slightly confused. Didn't everyone know how to write and read? Triton had made sure that there were programs available for all the merfolk to learn these essential tools, so Eric's statement didn't make sense to her.

Grimsby hummed, obviously still unconvinced. Picking up the newspaper that Eric had been reading, he passed it over to her along with a pen. "Write your name, my dear."

Ariel rolled her eyes, thinking this was a most absurd question. Quickly, she wrote her name in fanciful cursive, proudly turning the paper towards the men.

"She didn't print it." Eric sat back in his seat, one dimple showing as he smirked. "How ya like that?"

Grimsby sniffed, pocketing his pen. "Yes, quite surprising," he mumbled. "Perhaps you could show her around the library today Eric."

The Prince shrugged, stacking his dishes. "We could once she's finished." Ariel placed her dishes together in a similar fashion and pushed her chair back, ready to head off. Eric chuckled. "Hey, if you want to eat some more, you can. I don't have anything today." She shook her head, scuffing her slippers in impatience.

"She's can't eat much to keep that tiny waist Eric. Don't push her and go off already." Carlotta's voice came from the hallway, two maids behind her. "Just remember that dinner's at five, sharp."

"And make sure she knows the proper way to greet Their Majesties when they arrive tomorrow."

Eric winced as he tucked Ariel's hand in his arm. "So soon?"

"They were only in the kingdom's countryside, not Sweden."

Eric sighed and nodded. "I'll make her as proper as a princess," he called over his shoulder as they made their way out the dining room.

Ariel smirked at his comment. If only he knew how easy that was going to turn out to be.

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><p><strong>AN:** Useless Lesson 1: Back then, royalty and nobility and people with a lot of money normally had valets (men) and maids that would help them get dressed. This means they got completely naked and the servant had to dress them. I think Ariel would be pretty uncomfortable since, hey, even mermaids know that you ain't supposed to show your boobs everywhere.

Useless Lesson 2: I did some research on hair and was freakin' mindblown at what I learned. The hairstyles that we see Attina and Alana wear were the most fashionable ways to style hair back in the 1840s. It makes sense since they're the two oldest that they had the most popular way of styling their hair. But ladies were NEVER with their hair down, it was always up in some form. It was only children that wore their hair down like Ariel does. Coincidence?

Useless Lesson 3: The country closest to Denmark is Sweden, as their borders aren't separated by any sea. Though, since Eric's kingdom is coastal, Sweden is pretty far from it, maybe taking 2 weeks for each trip. A kingdom's countryside is generally only a few days trip from the capital.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** I had fun writing this chapter, and I hope y'all enjoy reading it. ;D

**Disclaimer:**_ The Little Mermaid_ and all its associated characters belong to D*sney.

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><p>"Ariel, do you mind if I ask a personal question?" She looked up from her search and waved a hand in acceptance. "Well, you don't have to answer it but," he sighed and leaned against the bookshelf, "what's your social class?"<p>

Ariel couldn't resist the smirk that appeared on her face. She rolled her eyes and held a hand out to him. Quickly, he handed her the notebook that she was now using to communicate and a pen. She scribbled rapidly and returned the book as she continued her search.

"Not a commoner," he read aloud. He scoffed. "Obviously. You have a perfect curtsy and can write. How about I guess?" She smiled and nodded, not having to look up to know he had his one-dimple smile.

In the past two hours, they had played guessing games as the main way to know each other. Eric had decided that since that's how he got her name right, it could be their special thing. She had readily agreed as just nodding and making facial expressions were much easier than writing everything down.

"Is your father nobility?" She shrugged. It was close. "Baron?" She frowned. "Viscount?" The frown stayed. "Earl? Duke?" She sighed and shook her head as she made her way to the other side of the bookshelf.

"That's pretty much all the nobles!" She shrugged, sitting on the floor to read book titles better. She was close to finding it; she knew it.

With a groan, he sat on the floor beside her. "Do I have to go higher or lower?" She pointed a finger upwards, glancing at him. He frowned, setting his chin on top of his fist. "He can't be King since no other ki-" His sentence broke off at the grin she gave him. His eyes widened and he scooted closer. "That means you're a princess!" She nodded, placing her hand on the floor and leaning closer.

"Princess Ariel," he whispered. She blushed, not that used to hearing her official title. Attina and Alana were the main princesses called on for big soirées, being the oldests, while the rest of them normally attended the more commoner-concentrated festivities. Whenever their official titles were used, the five youngest could be counted on to stammer before making a coherent sentence.

He cupped her cheek, smiling at the cat-like way she rubbed against his palm. "Sounds really nice."

He lifted his other hand and started to take the pins out of her hair. She sighed, the tightness on her scalp lessening. "You know, I shouldn't be doing this," he murmured. She opened her drowsy eyes and raised a slim eyebrow. "For a man to release a lady's hair is seen as an intimate gesture." He placed the pins beside him, letting his hand shift through her red locks.

He lowered his head, their lips extremely close. "It's only done by their husband, fiancé, or sweetheart," he breathed. He looked into her blue eyes and in a split second got a glimpse of her love for him.

She covered the hand on her cheek with her own and placed her other on his knee. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head up, a silent request. He ducked his head, closing the gap as his eyes drifted shut. The hand that was moving through her hair stopped it's exploration as her lips parted beneath his. He slid his hands to her nape and kissed her harder as he let his tongue tease her mouth.

Instinctively, a moan tried to make it's way out of her mouth but instead only came out as rapid breaths, a stinging pain shooting across her throat at her attempt. Ignoring it, she let her fingertips ghost over his collarbone, sending shudders down his spine. She leaned up, getting tired of his teasing. She ran her fingers through his thick hair, pulling his head down and bringing her tongue into play.

He groaned and pulled her on his lap. She gasped at the movement, separating their lips as she got comfortable. He lowered his head and began to trail kisses across her jawline. With another gasp, she threw her head back and gave him access to her neck.

She didn't know what to call this feeling. Her corset felt like it was too tight, her breasts seemed to be itching with the need to be freed, her stomach kept doing twists and turns and her legs felt like jelly. Her skin felt like she was inside a geyser, prickling and tense.

All she was sure of was that Eric was the reason she felt like this. And she didn't want him to stop.

His lips trailed lower and brushed the skin of her raised breasts, his hands pressing down on her back, silently telling her bend. She did so, her hands still tangled in his hair, unknowingly bringing his face closer.

She heard a distinct rapid tap on the wooden floor, a sound that she knew only person capable of. She ignored it and yanked his head back up, pressing their lips together in a harsh kiss. He groaned, his mouth no longer teasing but seductive.

She heard someone sputter and smiled, knowing who it was. Her joy was cut short when Eric broke their kiss and gathered her against his chest protectively.

He looked around suspiciously. "Did you hear that?" he whispered. He felt her shake her head before feeling her lips settle on his neck, sprinkling teasing nips. He closed his eyes, his whole body taunt with desire. "Ariel," he panted.

She wrapped her slender arms around him, her nails lightly raking his back. She nibbled on his earlobe, her body pressed flush against his. Oh, how she wished she could speak right now.

He placed his hands on her shoulders, slowly separating them. She levered herself by resting her forearms on his chest, their faces even. Their blue gazes met, both darkened with lust, and for a moment all they did was look at each other.

"We have to stop," he murmured. She began to play with his hair, tilting her head in question. He sighed and pressed their foreheads together. "Someone could walk in and I could never live with myself if I got you compromised."

She sighed. Attina and Triton had repeatedly drilled into her that a compromise would be an uttermost disaster. Seemed like the same stood on land.

More than a little irritated, she slid off his lap and slowly rose. Her knees buckled and she gasped as she tipped forward. Quickly, Eric was there, in an awkward standing/kneeling position, holding her up by the waist. He chuckled, setting her back on her feet and standing straight himself.

"It seems you have a habit of tripping," he said as he bent down to gather the notebook and a couple of books she had chosen.

Huffing, she stuck a hand out, tapping her foot impatiently. He raised an eyebrow as he handed it to her. She scribbled her message vastly quickly, her handwriting coming out slightly squished.

She flipped the book to his view, waiting for him to read. _"Shush and get my pins."_ He smirked, crossing his arms. "And if I don't?" She gasped and grabbed a hold of the notebook with both hands. She gave him a firm slap on the arm with it, the sound echoing in the empty library much to her delight. She smiled at his slight wince and couldn't hold back her giggle, silent and as painful as it was, when he mumbled and gathered her pins.

Mockingly, she raised a hand to her ear, eyes wide with innocence. "I said, I shouldn't have given that to you." Feigning hurt, she pouted and raised a hand to her heart. With a sniff, she turned and walked away. She heard his hearty chuckle, followed by his footsteps as he ran to catch up, and couldn't help but smile herself.

He stepped in front of her, effectively cutting her off from opening the doors. His face was alight with joy and she crossed her arms with a smirk. Seeing the twinkle in her eyes, a quite devilish smirk appeared on his own handsome features. Bending down to her 5'4" height, he handed her books to her before opening the door with a flourish.

Suspicious, she received the books and slowly passed him. Once again, she was stopped but this time with his lips. She stood shocked as he grabbed her chin and planted a rough kiss on her mouth. Just as she was about to respond, he broke the kiss, his eyes positively dancing.

"See you at dinner, darling."

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><p>"And after I got out of that lunatic's grasp, I heard that 'the lovely miss is wit' the Prince in the lib'ary'. There were some woman that even winked, and mind you, those winks were well deserved!"<p>

Ariel rolled her eyes, her attention momentarily drawn away from her book. She didn't know how, but Sebastian had managed to follow her back to her room. Just like she had assumed, he had begun to lecture her. He was finally getting the the point where he would scold her on how she had been acting improper with Eric.

Honestly, she didn't care.

Tuning out the crab's voice, she settled against the pillows once more, face scrunched in concentration. The book she was reading,_ The Deerslayer_, was proving somewhat confusing, but that didn't deter her from finding it intriguing.

When in the library, Eric had pointed several popular Danish books, most notably those by Hans Christian Andersen, but she had waved him off. Danish human books were some of the ones she had read most of the time, not to mention the fact that even the merpeople were writing more often in Danish.

No, she wanted something _English_.

Once in a while she had come across an English shipwreck, and those were her favorite. The English seemed to thoroughly enjoy reading as there were always a vast quantity of them. She had gotten her first English book when she was thirteen, thanks to Andrina's encouragement.

"Who knows," Andrina had shrugged, "maybe by the time you know English, you'll be able to come here by yourself."

She probably would be struggling much more with the book if it hadn't been for a group of English mermen that had been stranded in Atlantica after a political meeting. Thankfully, this group knew Danish as fluently as they knew English so communication had been smooth between the two nationalities.

After being introduced to the scholar of the political group by Attina, she had approached him with her interest in learning English. He had been all too happy to teach her and they had begun to spend hours together in the library as he taught her. He had been impressed by how quickly she caught on in the literary element of the language and she had been able to blow through _Gulliver's Travels_ with his help.

After he had returned to the English waters, Ariel was able to slowly continue her studies with Attina's help. Since she was the heir, Attina had to learn the main seven tongues of the sea, along with the language of their waters, Danish, and the traditional aquatic language. The rest of them just had to learn the traditional language and Danish.

She frowned as she re-read a paragraph. What she wouldn't give to have her notes to help her. She had been trying to decipher this section for a full half-hour and it was starting to irk her nerves.

"-and don't think I didn't know that you knew I was there. I was mortified. Mortified, I tell you! Not a care in the world that someone could see you two. Why that was a compromising position. I tell you, the boy gets points for stopping you."

The redhead set the book down on her bed and turned to her night table, her blue eyes harsh with annoyance. Was it her fault that she wanted to have some fun? The only things that her previous suitors had been able to do was take her on a stroll through the marketplace.

With one of her sisters accompanying them.

And two guards behind them.

Sebastian raised his claws in a defensive gesture. "Girl, only the sea know what you would've done to that poor boy." He scoffed, jumping to her bed. "I'm surprised you even listened to 'im." He walked over to her book and read the English name with a scowl. "You know what you should be doing?" She raised an eyebrow. "You should be thinkin' about how you're going to explain this to your family, that's what you should be doing."

She sighed, pulling on her necklace. She picked her book up and set it on the night table after saving her place with a bookmark that Eric had lent her. Carefully, she slid off the bed, unconsciously smoothing out her dress as she did so. She picked up the notebook and stared at a blank page as she paced the room.

She stopped at the window, peeking out to see if Eric was out. Instead, she saw maids cleaning the bottom balcony, talking to each other about the King and Queen's arrival tomorrow.

She wrote in the book, laying it down on the bed for Sebastian to read before she continued her pacing. She had written in the aquatic language, aware that Sebastian felt uncomfortable reading even Danish.

_"I don't want to hold it off, but I have to concentrate on making a good impression on his parents before I worry about Daddy."_

Sebastian sputtered, puzzlement clear on his face. "Are you crazy, girl?" She shrugged, playing with her necklace. "Your father should be the first thing on your mind, not these silly humans." She snatched up the notebook and wrote another phrase before throwing it before him.

_"If I'm going to marry Eric, I have to make sure his parents approve of me. Daddy will be furious with me either way so I'm going to focus on what has a better outlook."_

"And what of your sisters? There's been an almost constant drizzle, and you know you princesses have some control over the rain." He crossed his arms. "They miss you, Ariel," he whispered, pleading her to understand.

She bit her lip, looking out the window again. Sebastian was right, of course. Right now it was calm, but who knew when the rain would start again. Normally, the rain was a signal of their feelings. Anger and sadness called for menacing thunder and mild rain while joy gave the humans clear skies. The ocean itself was something that none of the princesses had control over, with Attina just recently gaining the trust of the triton. Not enough that she could wield it without Triton to help her, but enough that she could cause small waves for guppies to play in.

She grabbed the notebook once more and calmly set it on the bed this time. She didn't look away from Sebastian as he read, wanting to see how he would react.

_"I miss them too, so much. I'd like to talk to them as soon as possible. But ONLY them."_

The court composer looked up with a small smile on his face. "That's more like it." She smiled crookedly, hands shyly clasped before her. "When do you wanna met 'em?" Sebastian turned and started to make his way to the window, ready to go into the seas and tell the princesses right this moment. "I'll just go down and get you sist-"

Ariel quickly scooped him up, panic in her eyes as she shook her head. She pursed her lips in thought before setting Sebastian on the bed again, sitting down beside him. She wrote out yet another message, wishing for the umpteenth time that she had her voice.

_"I have to talk to Eric about even being near the ocean first. Everyone thinks that I'm from a shipwreck and they don't like to mention the ocean. They probably think I'll burst into tears."_

Dragging a claw down his face, Sebastian mumbled, "You're wearing on my sanity, I'll tell you that." She smiled and kissed his head. "When are you goin' to be talking to the boy?" She tapped her lips and leaned over the notebook once more.

_"During dinner."_

Sebastian opened his mouth to say something, but Carlotta chose that moment to come in. Quickly, he dashed underneath her pillows and she switched the places of the notebook and the novel, leaning back on the pillows and ignoring the squeak that came out of Sebastian.

"Ah, good you're awake. Oh, I see you've been reading. Well dear, put it down. There'll be time for that later. Right now, we have to get you out of that and into your evening gown." Carlotta disappeared into the closet, her clear voice turning into a mumble.

Ariel grimaced and laid the open book on her face. The one human thing that she found bothersome would be the one that she had to do the most.

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><p><strong>AN: **Useless Lesson 4: I'm so not lying about the hair thing. For a guy to see you with your hair down, if you were of high social standing, meant serious intimacy. Which is why only husbands, fiancés, and sweethearts (boyfriend wasn't used then) had that privilege, although even the sweetheart was stretching it.

Useless Lesson 5: In case you didn't know, like myself before I wrote this, _Gulliver's Travels _was published in 1726 and it was pretty popular so it makes sense that Ariel would find it in a shipwreck. _The Deerslayer_ is by James Fenimore Cooper and was published in 1841 and considered one of his two major romantic novels. I've read the summary and the book is going to play a part in the story. As for Andersen, he was/is a major Danish fairytale writer so I just had to mention him.

Useless Lesson 6: Ladies had to change clothes like for everything. They had walking dresses, house dresses, visiting dresses, dinner/evening dresses, supper dresses, riding dresses, ball gowns, and court dresses. If you thought what Ariel has to go through now is difficult, a court dress is even more tedious since you have to wear a wig and hoops and a bunch of other "fancy" things.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Sorry that I didn't update sooner. This chapter was a little tricky and some family matters came up. But, as an apology, I present to you a duper long chapter! This chapter also has a song snippet, if you will. I'm trying to keep this "Renaissance D*sney" if you will, so if words start rhyming, I most likely picture them singing. The song is _Beyond My Wildest Dreams_ from TLM Broadway and just so happens to be my favorite song EVAH.

**Disclaimer:** _The Little Mermaid_ and all associated characters belong to D*sney.

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><p>"You two were in there for quite some time. You can't blame the help for thinking as they are."<p>

Eric scoffed and continued pacing the length of the table. His whole body was tense, not with the desire that Ariel had awakened in him earlier, but with anger.

Grimsby just didn't understand. He'd been on his way to his study, needing to think over what he'd found out about Ariel. It was a quite a shock and had filled his mind with questions.

He had been crossing the main stairway and had happened to catch a glimpse of said redhead on the second floor as she was making her way to her room. Her look had been amusing, one filled with wonder as she studied one of the multiple paintings that adorned the castle. Her dainty hand had reached out and traced the design carved onto the frame.

His attention had been drawn away at the sound of scoffs. Silently, he rounded the stairway and peered in the hallway, eyes narrowing at the trio of maids cleaning.

"Look at her there. Looking 'round, won't make a sound," one of the older maids had whispered. "Just keeps on gawking -"

"Weird how she's not talking," a second maid, the oldest of three by her haggard appearance cut in. She tsk'ed, shaking her head as she dusted. "Look at her stare!"

A young maid, one he knew had an infatuation with him had sighed dreamily. "Lucky miss, chosen like this to stay for dinner."

"What does he see in 'er?" The eldest had moved her duster around as she waved her hand. "Obvious that she's not a riveting conversation partner."

The first maid had paused in her dusting and smirked. "I doubt that words are needed for what the Prince wants to do with 'er." She had winked, causing the young maid to blush while the third one had crowed with laughter.

"Why, no doubt that. It's the first in hours that they've been seen out the lib'ary!"

"And wit' no family to speak for 'er, 'is perfect for the Prince to practice on!" The old maids had nearly doubled with laughter while the young one had merely blushed.

He raked a hand through his hair, shaking his head as he remembered. "But Grim, they don't know her, she's just arrived and they're more than ready to rip her reputation to shreds. She's not like those other princesses that are so focused on being proper that they can't see someone smile without starting to talk about the proper way to do so." He raised a hand in annoyance. "She's not like all those daughters of earls or barons, only interested in getting into a profitable match."

He sighed, stopping in his tracks in front of the window. He leaned an arm against it, staring into the ocean. "She's different. She's more innocent, but not as if she were just out of the schoolroom." He smiled, remembering their kiss. "Most definitely not."

Grimsby blew into into his pipe, rolling his eyes. "Eric, when you act like that, it just gives them more reason to speak."

"But Grim, she's such a mix of wonderful things that I can't help but smile!" He leaned his back on the window, face glowing as he looked at him. "She's not pompous, she's not selfish, she has a great sense of humor, she's intelligent." He gave a short chuckle. "Not only does she know how to write and read, but she knows how to do the same in English." He walked up his elder and leaned in close. "English. Only two of those other princesses knew how," he whispered dramatically, an eyebrow raised in challenge.

"Have you thought she might be from the English Isles?" Grimsby shrugged, a look of satisfaction on his face. "That wild hair of hers is more common over there, I should know."

The Prince rolled his eyes, standing back up. "It matters not. Either way she knows two languages. And I know she could easily learn more. She has this air of curiosity, so anxious to know."

"Most commoners do, Eric."

Eric shook a finger in the air, a gleam in his eyes. "Ah ah ah. She's no commoner, Grims. She's a princess." He threw his hands in the air with a laugh. "So it wouldn't be a scandal if we were to get married!"

Grimsby coughed, his shock having made him take too much of pipe. "My boy, you sound absolutely smitten!" A small smile made it's way across his face. "Are you giving up on that foolish mystery maiden and giving the dear girl a chance?"

* * *

><p>"No matter how bothersome it is, you simply cannot take your bun off." Carlotta finished tying the laces of her dress, standing up and smiling at the exaggerated way that the redhead started breathing. She walked over to the night table, a question as to how she used to wear her hair upon her lips, when she looked at the open notebook.<p>

"What in the world?" she mumbled. Cautiously, she lifted the notebook and stared intently at the writing. She flipped back a few pages, the curious symbols and shapes changing into perfectly written Danish sentences.

She looked up at Ariel, the young girl currently putting on a new set of earrings, face scrunched in concentration as she leaned close to the vanity mirror. With a quick shake of her head, she closed the notebook. She swiped up the pen beside it, walking back into her view with a smile on her face.

"Ariel, don't forget your notebook." The girl smacked her forehead, turning and receiving the notebook with a mouthed thanks. "Are you ready?" She stepped back and twirled, the movement making the purple dress flounce about her, facing her caretaker with an unsure smile. The woman laughed, walking ahead of the girl to open the door. "I'll take that as a yes. And don't worry, you look splendid."

As she passed by, she shot forward and grabbed her elbow. She turned with a look of concern on her face, eyebrows scrunched. "Dear, I completely forgot! You do know the way?" She nodded, flashing a thumbs-up before continuing down the hallway.

With quick steps, Ariel made her way across the hall, taking the chance to look around her calmly. Carlotta had said that she had gotten ready ahead of schedule, and seeing as there seemed to be no one near as even Carlotta had returned back in the room, she slowed her pace.

_Look over there! Oh my god, how very odd!_ She skipped over to a bust, fingers hovering over the marble face. It was clearly the face of a man, similar to the one that she had seen Eric received on his birthday, but this rock seemed smoother, the man's features more mature. She bent, narrowing her gaze on a plaque on where the collarbone would of been. _And what might they be?_ She mouthed out _Christian VIII_, the name ringing no bells. She pursed her lips. _Something splendid maybe?_

Shrugging, she straightened and continued on her way. She began walking down the stairs, somehow already knowing to pick her skirts up as she made her way. The hallway seemed to be deserted, the rustle of her skirts and the slide of her hand on the banister the only sounds. She looked up to her right, a gasp escaping her lips as she took in the painting. _Look over here, could you bust?_

She walked across the step, hesitantly raising her hand. With a wince, she brought her hand back to her chest. She truly shouldn't, even she knew that paintings weren't meant to be touched. She sighed, tilting her head back, her curious blue eyes taking in all of the painting. It wasn't as cheerful as some of the others that she had seen in the castle. It was quite a large painting, even at the farthest away on the stairs, she still had to shift her gaze across to view the whole thing.

Depicted was the ocean with roaring waves attacking ships and sailors swimming away. Yet, the waves were not merely waves, they had the subtle form of young women, nine to be exact. _Isn't it just bedazzling, dazing, utterly amazing?_ The waves were twisting as they were suspended above, the barely visible female shapes seeming to be caught in the middle of a dance. Some were smiling and others had their upturned mouths slightly opened, a frozen laugh. Despite their joy, ships were caught in flames and making their way down in the ocean and panic was clear on the faces of the sailors.

She walked back to the wall, holding her breath as she read the silver plaque on the bottom of the frame. _De Ni Bølge Jomfruer, af Rasmus Øster_. For some reason, the painting was hauntingly familiar, almost as if it depicted a personal experience. The notion was silly; she had no power to turn into a wave, and hurting humans had always been the farthest thing from her mind.

She frowned, her hand coming up to play with the seagull once more. She sighed and hurriedly made her way down the rest of the stairs. She had no idea how long she'd been staring at the painting, but by the sunlight it seemed like five o'clock was nearing. She learned at breakfast that Louie was punctual towards when to eat, something that went against his apparent carefree French attitude.

She slowed her steps as she neared the entrance to the dining room, knowing from personal experience that to arrive short of breath was never good. She halted in the shadows as Eric's voice floated across to her.

"I-I'm not going to give up on finding her, but I no longer plan to marry her if I do happen to find her." His voice got stronger, more confident and she couldn't help the pride that rose in her at hearing him sound so powerful. "I owe her my thanks for saving me, and that is all she will receive. Ariel, she's, well, she's something special, something that I don't want to give up." A short pause ensued and she could see him lowering his head in concentration. "Although both she and that maiden have hit me with lightning at seeing them, when I'm with Ariel, that feeling stays and it's turning into something bigger, something better.

She couldn't help but grin at hearing this, delight warming her from the toes up. She twirled, holding her clasped hands close to her chest. _He's sweet and sincere_, she sighed, _magnificent from head to toe_. Quickly fanning herself, she turned and made her entrance to the room, not missing the way the smug look on Grimsby face as he took in her refined appearance.

She walked up to Eric, looking much like she did two nights ago. Once again, he smiled at her, that sweet two-dimpled smile. "You look wonderful," he whispered. This time though, he took on her her hands in his and lifted it to his lips, bestowing a warm kiss to her knuckles as his blue eyes twinkled up at her. She blushed, shrugging her shoulders in acceptance.

Dinner was amiable, and no seafood was served that night, much to her relief. Louie was trying out a set of Italian recipes that someone had shipped to him, Carlotta had explained as she set the pasta plates in front of them. Mostly, she listened to the conversation between Grimsby and Eric as they discussed political matters involving countries she had never heard off. Whenever they started discussing a new country, Eric had looked over at her, silently asking her if she knew the place they were talking about. Each time, she had smiled sadly and shook her head. And every time, Eric's fingertips had brushed against hers, his soft smile showing how he still had hope.

Hope for what she didn't know.

It was when they started talking about shipping and sailing that she had gotten involved in the conversation. She wasn't all too sure how the conversation had started, since she had begun to block out their voices just like when her sisters were talking for hours when she had a bad day. But she heard Grimsby say something about the weather and the strange rain that had been occurring and how it was affecting the ships. Perking up, she took a sip of wine, her gaze intent.

"Well, Grims, there's nothing much we can do about it. You ask the scholars, they'll say it'll be over in a few hours; you ask the sailors, they say it's when Triton is happy again." Eric shrugged, sitting back in his chair.

She choked on her wine, the liquid getting caught in her silent giggle. Eric and Grimsby had shared looks of concern, the Prince leaning over to rub her back. "You okay?" She coughed and nodded, eyes shining with amusement and tears.

She opened up her notebook, writing out her thought. _This storm will be over shortly, don't worry. I wouldn't recommend any ships to go out too far for a while though._ She laid the notebook in the middle of the men, twirling a stray strand as she kept thinking over Eric's statement. Her father control the rain? She inwardly scoffed, _Please_.

Grimsby raised his eyebrows as he read. He looked up, surprised to see the siren's lips twitching with an obvious urge to laugh. "How might you know this, my dear?" Eric looked up and nodded, handing the notebook back.

She shrugged and wrote out in the notebook anyway. _Instinct. For the ocean, it's never failed me. I have a connection if you will._ Eric smiled, rubbing his chin in thought. "Do you like the ocean?" She nodded, just like when he had offered a tour of his kingdom. "Have you ever gone sailing?" She frowned, shaking her head.

Suddenly, she smiled and grabbed the notebook back. _I've gone swimming though. I love just diving in the waters and jumping around with the dolphins._ She sighed, setting the notebook on the table for Grimsby to read her comment. Her eyes took on a dreamy look, cheeks flushing with color as she remembered the excitement of rapidly swimming with the sleek animals, water seeming to cut past her and suddenly being replaced with air as she flipped her tail and twisted in tricks that the colonies had taught her.

The Prince's own eyes seemed to turn lax with pleasure as he looked at her. He knew that his own face could easily mirror hers if he went sailing. She couldn't be more perfect. The one thing that had often served as a deal-breaker with over-confident ladies had been their opinion on the waters, with most of them treating it as a monster. Ariel seemed to think of it as a close friend, even if it had been less than kind to her in the shipwreck that had washed her up in his kingdom.

His face turned serious as his thoughts took a dark turn and he pictured her being thrown off-board by harsh winds and struggling to remain above water as waves roared over, taking her under. Seeing his charge's face turn solemn, Grimsby coughed. "The shipwreck hasn't made you frightened?"

She rolled her eyes, mouth saying _"Of course not,"_ as if a voice was supposed to accompany the words. She winced and rubbed her throat. She sipped her wine, her face relaxing as the cool drink slid down and calmed the sting. She took back her notebook and scribbled once more, scratching out as she wrote out her thoughts.

_I've always loved the ocean and nothing could make me fear it. I do have a few questions to ask though, if I may?_ She flipped the notebook to their view, and they quickly nodded their consent. _There's a painting by the stairs called De Ni Bølge Jomfruer, what is the story behind it? Also, I was wondering if I could go out by the shore soon._

"Oh, well I'll take the painting and Grims will take the latter." He looked at his adviser and nodded before he could answer. "Alright, so 'The Nine Billowing Daughters'. Uh, well, it's based off an old Norse tale. If you look closely, you can see nine girls dancing," she nodded, "and they are the daughters of Ægir, the Lord of the Seas." He shrugged. "But Njord is supposedly the real God of the Seas and Ægir is just the personification of the power of the ocean." He smiled, his voice taking on highs and lows common to talented storytellers.

"Anyway, Ægir had nine daughters; Himinglæva, Dúfa, Blódughadda, Hefring, Udr, Hrönn, Bylgja, Dröfn, and Kólga." He chuckled at the face she made at hearing the mouthful of names. "Now, it's his daughters that are the reason for many ocean disasters since they're each a giant wave and when they dance," he threw his hands in the air, "ships wreck and sailors drown."

He rubbed his chin as he looked at her. "In fact, I think one of them is said to have the same hair as you because she was the one that caused the most bloodshed or something along those lines." She gasped and patted her bun. He frowned. "I think," he mumbled.

"But it's simply a silly tale," Grimsby cut in. "Just like the talk of Triton and all other Greek Gods, or Roman Gods for that matter." He sniffed, sliding a distasteful glance at Eric. The girl looked shaken by the story and he supposed that she had a whimsy disposition. "Now, for your other question," he raised an aged eyebrow, "do you truly think that's wise?"

She nodded and tilted her head in question. "My dear, you've just survived a brush with death and you want to go back to the very reason why?" He was shocked at the small smile playing on her lips and could have sworn that he saw amusement dancing in her eyes.

_I just think that the sooner I face threats, the sooner they stop being so._ She raised a slim eyebrow, an air of a regal expectation to not be denied around her.

The Prince nodded. "Sounds like a good motto. I think you could go tomorrow before the arrival." Grimsby frowned and he sheepishly smiled. "I mean, if you think it's okay for her to go out." Grimsby rolled his eyes and waved a hand as he took a generous gulp of his wine. "Great!" He turned back to Ariel, happy to see the joy in her face. "Do you mind if I go with you? I wouldn't want to risk you getting hurt."

She bit her lip. If she said yes, it would be practically impossible to meet her sisters. If she said no, she could end up hurting Eric. She needed to find middle ground, middle ground was always good. Oh, if only Sebastian could help her!

An idea struck her and she quickly wrote it out. Excitedly, she flipped the notebook to Eric's view. _You can come, but there's something of a tradition that I want to do. When the time comes, could you leave me to my own for a while?_

He sighed but nodded. He was about to say more when Grimsby let out a short exclamation. "Look at the time! Seven already." He cleared his throat and stood from his seat. "Eric, there are matters that need to be settled before your parents arrive."

With a sigh, the Prince rose from his seat. "You sure they can't wait Grims?"

He shook his head. "If you had taken care of these documents earlier, you wouldn't have to do it now." He leveled his gaze on Eric. "But you didn't, did you?" he deadpanned.

Eric shrugged, a smile on his face. Going over to Ariel, he lifted her head and kissed her knuckles again. "I'll see you at supper then." He stole a quick kiss, smiling at her flustered expression when he pulled away.

Grimsby snapped his fingers. "Ah, Ariel, Carlotta told me that she's arranged for you to meet up with a tutor, although I forget which. Once you find her, I'm sure she'll tell you."

Ariel nodded and stood also. She hoped that Sebastian would already be in the room. They couldn't waste time if she was to meet with her sisters tomorrow. Hopefully, Carlotta would be taking care of dishes and delay her arrival.

She had a dreading sense that she would need to change clothes again.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Useless Lesson 7: Christian VIII was the ruling monarch of Denmark in 1847, the year I've settled on for the story. His reign was from 1839 to 1848 and he was known as the "giver of constitutions". From what I can gather, it seemed like he was a pretty fair ruler and I'm thinking about toying with that for this story.

Useless Lesson 8: Norse mythology was a popular subject for Danish paintings during the 17th-19th centuries and it just about killed me finding a piece of it that I could weave into the plot. That whole spiel about Ægir and his daughters is a true folklore, as is about Njord. HINTHINT.

Creative Liberty 1: The bust. I have no freakin' clue if they did that in Denmark. Like, legit, I don't even get why you would want the HEAD of some dude in your home. I totally understand Eric's dislike of his statue.

Creative Liberty 2: The painting that kicked off the Norse ball is my idea. I scoured the Interwebs for a picture of the daughters correspondent to the time period but I only got a picture of them making ale and that didn't really help my point. So I went against every fiber of my history junkie self and made it up. By the by, the painters name. Totally made up also. No clue if that person is real. If he is, and if he's reading this - four for you Rasmus Øster, you go Rasmus Øster.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** So, what normally what happens when I write a story is that my brain just spouts different scenes in no certain order and they don't leave me alone until I write them out. This has happened and I'm trying to figure out a way to incorporate it all and this leads to me rearranging the timeline I had. Then I get stumped as to what to write to connect two scenes and this is where I am now. With school starting again in less than a week, I'm afraid that updates will be taking longer. I'm **NOT** dumping the story though, NOT AT ALL!

I thought that this bit is enough to pass for a chapter. It's a bit of filler, bit of actual progress. Hope y'all enjoy.

**Disclaimer:**_ The Little Mermaid_ and all its associated characters belong to D*sney

* * *

><p>Sebastian peered down at the notebook, nervously clicking his claws together. Ariel was hunched in the bed, trying to sketch out a blueprint of the shore closest to the castle. She huffed and turned to stare at her companion from his perch on her shoulder, to which he ginned and held his claws behind him.<p>

She blew on the ink, wishing she knew how long it took to dry. The writings in her notebook hadn't taken too long, but this paper was to go underwater and it wouldn't do if the ink leaked once it came in contact with the water. Land paper was fragile enough, the many tears in her secret collection proof of the difficulty she encountered. But those books had been made years before she found them, probably the only reason why they had been legible.

"That's the map?" She nodded, sitting up and raising the notebook to her direct view. Two whole pages were filled with a rough sketch of the splattering of rocks that surrounded the southermost shore to Eric's castle. She had placed a star on a rock that she had exaggeratedly made larger so that her sisters knew which one to meet her at.

It just so happened to be the very same one on which she had kept watch of Eric after the seastorm. It wasn't too inland that her sisters would have to drag themselves and not too far in the sea that she would be in danger of drowning.

Carefully, she ripped out the pages. She frowned as she looked around her chamber for something that could help the speed the drying process. Spying a lone chair by the closet, she bounced off the bed and dragged it over to the window. She opened them a crack and set the pages on the chair, using the fork as a weight.

She sighed in satisfaction. She made her way to the closet as Sebastian began talking. "Your sisters are supposed to meet you after breakfast," she nodded, gaping at the intricate design of a blue dress. Sebastian scratched his head. "'Round one, you set off wit' the boy and you send him away, to which you then tell your sisters everyt'ing?" She smiled and gave him a thumbs-up as she continued to venture in the closet.

He paced the bed, anxiety marking his face. "What if the boy sees you? How are you goin' to explain a group of mermaid princesses to him?" He threw his claws in the air. "He'll probably faint!"

Ariel rolled her eyes, used to Sebastian's nervous breakdowns. He continued to rant about dangers and revising every detail of the plan they had worked on as she stepped farther into the closet. She looked up and saw an array of round boxes. Scrunching her eyebrows, she stretched her arms out to reach one.

It was higher than she expected and after waving her arms around, she leaned herself up on her toes. Sticking her tongue out, she started bouncing up, determined to open at least one box. Her fingers brushed the side of a box and she smiled. She moved her bangs from her view and gave another jump up. Suddenly, her fingers were around the sides of the box.

She gasped and pulled the box forward as she also fell backwards. As she tripped over the hem of her dress, she fell flat on her butt, her pins sticking out of her bun as it came undone. She looked up and opened her mouth ready to scream as she saw other boxes falling down.

She did scream, but it was silent and made her throat burn terribly. She winced and rubbed her throat, keeping her other hand tightly around her prize. Realizing she had succeeded in her goal, she smiled and bounced up from the floor.

She sat on the bed, taking the remaining pins out of her hair and resting them on the night table. She shook out her hair and smiled at Sebastian frozen face of shock at seeing the mess that was now the closet. She sighed, happy to have the pins out of her hair.

She bit the inside of her cheek and cautiously opened the box. What if she wasn't supposed to see what was in there? Mentally, she smacked her forehead. _Why would it be in **my** closet then?_ Nonetheless, she quickly took the lid off, clenching her eyes shut. When nothing happened, she slowly opened them only to gape disbelievingly at what was inside.

It was a hat.

With a most unamused face, she took the hat out of the box. Although, as she kept staring at the hat, her blue eyes filled with curiosity. In Atlantica, some women wore hats although the only purpose it served them was that they were fashionable. Yet, those hats were always small and worn tilted forward, filled with ruffles and splashes of flowers. This hat was something entirely different.

It was quite large and had an opening on the bottom and on the side. The fabric on the end seemed to be mimicking ruffles as it pointed slightly upward. There was also a thick green and purple ribbon surrounding the side opening, loosely tied in the bottom. On the side, tucked into the ribbon, was a small set of pink flowers. She touched them lightly and was disappointed at the hard unnatural surface.

"Ariel, you can't be takin' things out and throwing them everywhere like that!" She rolled her eyes, pointedly ignoring his exclamations as she tried to put the hat on.

Halfway through her struggle, she heard the doors open and before she could take it off, Carlotta strode in the room. Sebastian made a dash for her pillows, barely making it to safety. Ariel looked up at the housekeeper and smiled sheepishly at the bewildered expression on her face.

Carlotta looked back and forth between the redhead and the mess that was sprawling out of the closet. She sighed and dragged a hand down her face. Maybe the girl was a bit daft, it wasn't uncommon for intelligent people to lack common sense. She began picking up the boxes, carefully placing fallen hats back in and stacked them beside the closet door, shaking her head as she did so.

Ariel bit her lip, guilt overtaking her. She hadn't meant to make such a mess, and she especially didn't want to cause any trouble for Carlotta. The woman had been nothing but kind to her and if her duties were the same as the royal housekeeper in Atlantica, she didn't have any spare time to waste on her.

She slid down the bed and walked over to Carlotta. She was having trouble standing, muttering under her breath as she fought gravity. Ariel stuck her hand out, an apologetic smile on her face. Carlotta sighed once more and accepted Ariel's hand, completely prepared to have the thin girl fall down on her.

Instead, she uttered a gasp at the strength she felt behind the lifting pull. She stood up on shaky legs, even more surprised to not find her charge out of breath. A frown appeared on her face and she tilted her head in a silent question. "Just surprised, my dear," she stammered. At seeing the girl's eyebrows furrow together in further confusion, she added, "Most girls that are as thin as yourself don't have that kind of strength." Her mouth formed an 'o', understanding dawning.

She saw the bonnet that was being squeezed onto her head and chuckled. "Now's not the time for bonnets," she reached up and untied the ribbon that was pushed to the side, "and that's certainly not how to wear one." Taking the now rumpled fabric of her head, she wen to the bed and placed it back in the box.

Something new to learn, thought Ariel. She sat down on the edge of the bed, watching Carlotta as she picked out a lily gown and all it's needed undergarments. They began the long dressing process once more, much to her discomfort. Thankfully, Carlotta struck up a conversation that managed to distract her.

"Now, I was able to get a governess for you, short notice as it was." Ariel frowned. Dealing with governesses wasn't something she enjoyed, Marina not being a good experience. "She's waiting in the parlor room for you so we must hurry."

Carlotta straightened from tying her petticoats and looked up at Ariel. "Have you had a governess before?" Ariel made a face and nodded, making her smile. "I take it wasn't enjoyable?" Once more she nodded.

Carlotta gathered the gown in her arms, turning back to the girl with pursed lips. "How old are you, dear?" She raised two full hands and then lowered four fingers from one hand. "Sixteen?" She nodded.

Carlotta didn't say anything as she slipped the gown over her head. As she was buttoning her up from the back, she heard her mutter, "Good thing it's Ms. Marks...need a debut...Queen's approval." Her voice was overshadowed by the ruffle of her skirts as Carlotta arranged them and she was left to ponder what she had heard.

Before her thoughts could truly take form, she heard Carlotta sigh and winced at the tug of the hairbrush of her tangled locks. "I guess we'll just leave it down until I can find a more secure way to keep it up." She smiled, glancing at the housekeeper from the corner of her view. She was muttering to herself again, surely about her hair.

She repressed the urge to sigh. The scene was all too familiar to her. How many times had Attina or Alana taken it upon themselves to brush her hair when it had simply slipped her mind? She played with the seagull charm as sadness swept through her.

She blinked quickly, trying to keep back the tears that had snuck up on her. She rubbed her eyes, hating how much of a guppy she was being. She knew what she had been giving up when she signed the contract, she didn't have any regrets then. She was _not_ going to start now.

But, oh, she did miss her big sisters sometimes.

* * *

><p>"I've heard that you know Danish and English?" Ariel nodded, her hands clasped on her lap as she resisted the urge to hunch under the governess' harsh glance.<p>

The woman had to be around Attina's age with dark brown hair pulled into a harsh bun. She wore no bangs and had not a single stray hair that softened her sharp yet delicate features. She was skinny, but nicely filled out. Her grey gown did it's most to not compliment her, but Ariel could tell from the shadows playing across her that she wasn't unattractive.

She wore wire-framed glasses that hid her eyes under the glint of the light. Ariel had gotten a glimpse of them when they had crashed as she had entered the parlor. If she hadn't already been mute, she doubted she could have said anything. They were a strange color, green and brown with flecks of gold thrown in.

"Which are you more comfortable using?" Her voice was stern with a undercurrent of kindness, something that she recognized was usually in Attina's voice as well.

Ariel pursed her lips in thought. She picked her notebook from the table that separated them and began to write. Once done, she handed it over to her. _I am more fluent in Danish, but I wouldn't mind English as I would like to be able to practice my English more._ She saw the governess' light brows shoot up as she read her near perfect English, but to Ariel it wasn't nearly good enough.

"Very well," she said switching to her London accented English. "I'm Ms. Marks. Carlotta told me your name is, Ariel?" She nodded, her brain frantically translating. "What's your last name Ariel?" She opened her mouth, ready to speak before she realized that she didn't know. Her mouth hung slightly opened in shock and she saw Ms. Marks become confused.

She crossed her legs, sitting back in the setté as she thought. Other merpeople had last names, but she couldn't remember a single royal member that had one. Here though, everyone had one. And she didn't feel anxious to find out what could happen if she didn't give one.

She held her hand out, requesting back the notebook. She stared at Ms. Marks with large eyes until the woman gasped and rushed to hand it to her. "I didn't believe them that you were truly a mute," she mumbled, her tone embarrassed.

She smiled and shrugged, not offended in the least. She wrote out her signature with a small, or big, addition and some information that she remembered Marina also asking them when she had begun her job with them.

_Ariel Atlantica. I'm sixteen and the youngest of seven girls, no allergies or fears, and I've had only one governess before._

"So, you didn't have a nursery governess?" She scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. Ms. Marks sighed and tapped her fingers on the notebook. "For how long was your previous governess employed?" She pointed to herself and stuck out two full hands. The woman's eyes widened in shock. "You had the same governess for ten years?" She nodded, not understanding how badly this was reflecting on her.

Ms. Marks stood and offered Ariel her hand to stand, handing back her notebook also as she lead them out of the parlor. "Well then, we have much to cover and a short time to do so."

* * *

><p>For three hours, Ms. Marks began to drill into Ariel rules of etiquette, both old and new, a condensed summary on the rule of the Danish monarchy, and the location of important countries in half of Europe.<p>

"You obviously know how to read and write," she had said as she began taking out books for reference. "And pronunciation won't be a problem because of, um, I mean that is," she stammered and looked back at Ariel, relief showing at seeing the girl smiling with innocent amusement.

Etiquette had passed relatively quickly as Ariel had been taught most in Atlantica. Ms. Marks hadn't been able to contain her surprise at her knowledge of upper-class manners, but hadn't remarked, deciding that she would voice her questions when their time frame wasn't as tight.

She chose to only go over the most significant rulers in the past century, knowing that only politicians and historians went farther back. She did go into great depth with the ruling monarch and hadn't been surprised when Ariel had flashed her notebook with confused eyes. _Aren't Eric's parents the current rulers?_

She smiled and shook her head. "You see, my dear, this kingdom is more like a dukedom. They are still part of Denmark, but through close relations with the monarchy, they have been allowed a slight sovereignty. That is why within the kingdom's borders, the Prince's family is considered royalty. But when meeting with other nations or Danish nobles, the King and Queen are the Duke and Duchess and the Prince is the Marquess."

Ariel pursed her lips at the information. Ms. Marks continued with the lesson, but now she wasn't paying full attention. If Eric was technically a Marquess, then she was above him. She tapped her pen against her lips, eyebrows scrunching in concentration. Triton wouldn't have a problem with it, but then he didn't truly have a voice in her suitors now.

"Ariel, what's your social standing?" She blinked, surprised to find Ms. Marks opening and closing books in the rushed manner that she learned meant they moving on. She froze with her pen above the paper, unsure if she should reveal her true position or if she should lower herself.

_You already told Eric, just stick with it._ She sighed and wrote it out, slipping the notebook to Ms. Marks as she stood hunched over a book.

She waited until Ms. Marks found whatever she was looking for, biting her lip. She winced at her surprised gasp and glanced up from under her bangs to see the wide-eyes stare of the governess. "Princess?" She nodded shyly. "From where? Here," she got a globe and placed it in front of Ariel, "point to your country."

She squinted her eyes, recalling having the same object in her grotto. She located Europe and then went on to search for Denmark. Atlantica had to be just by Denmark, after all, it only took her a few moments to swim up to Eric's kingdom.

Finally finding the surprisingly tiny country, she placed her index finger on the small water area beside it, turning the globe to Ms. Marks view. The woman raised an eyebrow. "My dear, that's just water." She nodded. "Ariel, no one can live on the water. They would have to be under it, and that's only for fish." She pointed at herself and mouthed, _"I did."_

Ms. Marks frowned. It could be possible that she was mentally handicapped for her to say that. Yet this was the first hint of her being anything but an amazingly intelligent young woman. She glanced at the grandfather clock nearby and nodded. "It's nearly eleven. Perhaps you're tired. Tomorrow we'll discuss this, hopefully Their Majesties won't arrive too early."

Ariel huffed. It seemed that she would have to think of somewhere to be from as she wasn't believing her. She was feeling tired though, she couldn't remember the last time she had learned so much. She'd talk to Sebastian, he wasn't from Atlantica and could possibly help her decide where she should be from.

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><p><strong>AN: **Useless Lesson 9: Hats, hats, hats! The type of hat that Ariel is used to is from the 1770s-1780s and they were so small because women had their hair stacked up super high and very elaborately. They still needed hats for some gosh awful reason. In the 1840s though, bonnets were what was in. The bonnet that Ariel finds is an actual bonnet that I found on sale somewhere from EXACTLY 1847. If you're wondering how much it was for, it was for $175.

Useless Lesson 10: Back in the 1800's there were three types of governesses: a school teacher; a woman who resided at one place and traveled to another home to teach (a "daily governess"); and a woman who lived in a household in order to teach the children and serve as a companion to them (a "private governess"). This is completely different from a nurse, who would take care of the kids until they were 4 or 5. At that age, they would be handed over to a nursery governess that taught them reading and writing until they were eight. The boys would then be sent off to prep school where they would have more in-depth lessons in a lot of subjects, such as science.

For girls though, they would then get a preparatory governess that would teach them the main 'female' subjects of English, geography, history, singing, piano, drawing, and needlework until they reached the age of twelve. Then they would have either a finishing governess or be sent to a prep school and be taught the 'finer arts' of dancing, singing, and piano. Up until the 1850s the common age for a girl to have her debut, or the formal start to her search for a husband, would be sixteen, Ariel's age!

Creative Liberty 3: Ms. Marks! She's not exactly my own character, ha. She's a character in the Hathaway Series by Lisa Kleypas in which she is a governess/companion to the two youngest Hathaway girls. I absolutely adore her and when I needed to put in a governess, I was like, "HEY! Why not her?" If you've read the series (OHMYGOSHIWOULDADOREYOU), then pretend this is in an alternate reality where she somehow ends up in Denmark years before she's born. c:

Creative Liberty 4: The whole dukedom/kingdom thing. It always bothered me since I'm a stickler for facts and thought that perhaps Ariel might be confused by it too. And that's how my very confusing explanation came to be. I don't know if that can actually happen, I hope not, and I have no clue if that's what D*sney intended, blah, blah, blah.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Let me start this off by saying how incredibly sorry I am for having neglected this story. School began shortly after my last update and my AP class has taken up more time than I thought. I also joined a marvelous RP group and I'm afraid I started giving them too much attention. Now though, it's the start of winter break for me and I'm planning on giving you lovely folks at least four updates before the New Year.

Truly though, you are all such marvelous people, I can't believe the amount of love you all give this story. It has over 10,000 hits, more alerts than I ever imagined seeing and some of you have even included me in your favorite author list. That's the greatest honor I can ever dream of receiving, and for that I wish I could give you all a very big hug full of love.

I plan on giving you all another update on the morrow as this is a really short chapter. c:

By the by, if you're like me and haven't looked at this story since the last time I updated and are lost, this chapter is taking place on what would have been Ariel's third and final day as a human.

**Disclaimer:**_ The Little Mermaid_ and all its associated characters belong to D*sney.

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><p>Ariel sighed and sat down in front of the vanity mirror. She picked up her brush and began to carefully brush out the knots that had formed. She saw the young maid hesitate as she made her way to the door and she shook her head, her blue eyes kind.<p>

"Are you sure you don't need any 'elp, miss?" She shook her head once more, waving a hand to the side. The maid curtsied, calling over her shoulder, "Good night, Ms. Atlantica."

Ariel winced, from the pinch of the brush and from the formal name. Ms. Marks has gone directly to Grimsby to tell him of her last name, dismissing what Ariel had told her of her social status. It seemed that since then all of the servants had been instructed to refer to her as 'Ms. Atlantica' instead of the more familiar 'Ms. Ariel'.

_Humans fuss more about propriety than Attina._ She placed the brush back on the vanity table and ran her fingers through her hair. It was odd having her hair so, so close to her. The water used to always keep it slightly away from her but here it even stuck to her scalp.

Immediately following the soft thump or the door closing, Sebastian's voice rang out. "At least that girl didn't take long." Ariel smiled softly, having actually missed the motherly way that Carlotta fussed over her.

She made her way over to the window, brushing the curtains aside for a moment. A dreamy grin overtook her features at seeing Eric. Just like her first night at the castle, he was playing with Max. She titled her head in curiosity as she saw his lips rapidly moving and how hard set his features were. Suddenly, Grimsby appeared, his hands moving in a flustered motion.

"Do you think it's dry enough now?" Sebastian cautiously walked over the spread sheets, satisfaction showing when the ink didn't show up in his legs. He looked, prepared to see Ariel leaning over him. Instead, the teenager was frowning as she continued looking out the window.

Eric was pacing now and she saw Max sit beside Grimsby, his tail curled around himself. Flinging his arms up, Eric turned and faced the older man. She was shocked at the desperate worry and anger clear on his face. His lips didn't move for a while and she guessed that Grimsby was speaking.

Eric closed his eyes and shook his head, his posture weary, before turning around and heading back into the shadows. Grimsby's posture stayed stiff and tense and Max prodded him in Eric's direction. He patted the dog's head before going the same way as Eric, Max close on his heels.

"Ariel, are you listening to me?" She pursed her lips and firmly closed the curtains, absently nodding. She sat down in front of the chair, sighing as she got the papers. Pressing her fingers firmly on the ink, she moved them about, testing how dry it was. Yet even as she performed the "tests", the worry in her eyes wasn't just about the sheets.

Something was worrying Eric. And for him to walk away form a discussion with Grimsby, it had to be very serious. In her short stay, she already knew that Eric held him high in confidence and respect. She worried her lip, twisting the papers into a tube.

"Now, I better hurry or else all your sisters'll be asleep by the time I reach Atlantica." He stuck his claws out and noticed the trouble look in her eyes. He sighed and dragged a hand down his face. "Girl, everything's going to be fine. I'm sure that the King and Queen will like you as much as the Prince." He smiled a tad wistfully. "And you'll get to live happily ever after."

Ariel smiled, bending down to kiss the top of his head. Sweet Sebastian, always thinking about what was best for her and sisters. Although the meeting hadn't been first on her mind, she felt less nervous thinking about it. She was going to get her happily ever after, and she would try her hardest to include her family in it.

She firmly rolled the papers and handed them to Sebastian. She looked at the clock and quickly scooped him up at reading the time. _It's already pass curfew!_

Ariel set him on the balcony railing and saluted him, a nervous smile on her face. He sighed and saluted back. "Good luck child." And with that, he was gone.

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><p><strong>AN:** This A/N is a response to an anon review by J. Everyone else can skip this is they want; y'all won't miss out on anything. J, by the by, this is not an angry response. Your review is the kind I love and I wish that you had an account so we could talk about this privately.

Mainly, I want to say thank you for your compliment. I really doubt myself as a writer since I feel that I write way too much dialogue so this story is a bit of a challenge. I'm so glad you like the way I'm portraying the characters since it's always hard to bring them to life based on a singular movie (or three, whichever).

1. I really debated with myself over the whole writing thing. I would have loved to do it with just body language, but then I started thinking of very mature scenes and I want to keep this T. Maybe I'll do another 'What if' with that as their form of communicating. But, it's clear in the movie that she knows how to read and write. She seems to be able to understand what she reads in human books, Ursula's contract was in English (let's assume that's the language they speak), and she signs it. I've heard a lot of debate over why she didn't just explain it to Eric in writing if she could and I think that it might be because even she knew how unbelievable it was. Maybe she trusted that she would be able to get Eric to love her without explaining? Maybe it slipped her mind in all the excitement of being human and being with her prince in a way that's very common for teenagers, or anyone?

2. J, first off, I have never seen the Broadway show. I know I've mentioned some of the Broadway songs, but that's all I've heard/seen from the show, the songs. So, I have no clue as to how it went in the show. If you have seen the show, I would really appreciate it if you could possibly give me a play-by-play (in a private message) of what they did as the only major differences I'm aware of is that Vanessa doesn't come up, there's a singing contest, and Ariel is the heroine. So, for Eric's 'rents being alive, I'm going mostly by what's in the movie. And in the movie he's called the Prince and in any monarchy, that I'm aware of, it doesn't matter if the heir is married or not, once the parents pass away, the heir is made the ruler. To me, his parents aren't mentioned because they don't play that big a part and they're just in the shadows during the real wedding.

3. I've haven't read the novel either, I've been trying to get my hands on a copy for years and nutin'. I truly have no clue as to architecture, and I don't really know much about Greek and Latin (although I'm trying to fix that). And I hate stereotypes and I'm always looking at 'What if's' in them, so I can picture Eric being the exception to the Scandinavian look. Just like not all Russians are blonde, or all Mexicans are short, or all the French are dark-haired, or all Asians have straight hair. Also, I don't see Eric having olive skin. It just looks normal colored to me. ._.

4. Once again, I've never seen the show. And I'm not contradicting the movie just to contradict it. It's just that it's always been bothersome to me the idea of kingdoms coming up and going away with no trace, a thing that stops me from fully enjoying fairy tales and Disney movies nowadays, and I had to give myself an explanation. Once I did so, it kept interrupting my writing and I decided to put it in here so that I wouldn't have to do an A/N to explain it. And again, I might do one where he is the Prince/King but that would make me have everyone treat Ariel in a much harsher form and I really don't like writing negative things. D:

If I sound snippy, I'm not, really. It's those types of reviews that make my day because they make me think and analyze my choices. If you have an account, please log in for a review or PM because I'd like to keep talking with you about this since I feel that you'll probably have some damned good responses. (:

If you aren't J and you're reading this, please don't hesitate to ask/doubt/confront me on certain things in this fic. Send me a review or a PM and I'll gladly explain what was goin' on in my brain when I was writing. If it's on the history I'm using as background, how I'm developing characters, my writing style, whichever, all of y'all have a right to voice your opinion on it. Besides, I'm only a fifteen year old high school sophomore and I am bound to make mistakes. My research is based on books I've read and the internet so I could be wrong on so many things it's not even funny.

I do answer all the reviews I recieve non-anonymously and I will get to that before the end of the weekend. Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!


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